Mystery of the Mind
by Deana
Summary: Frank Donovan is sought after for revenge, and almost doesn't survive the encounter.
1. Where's Frank?

**Mystery of the Mind  
****A UC: Undercover story b****y Deana Lisi**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Frank Donovan sigh or any other UC characters, but the original ones are mine. **

**Special thanks to Tracy, Robin, Rae, and Karri for giving me a couple of ideas when I got writer's block!**

**xxxxxxxxxx**

_(ring )_

"Hello?"

"Alex? Where are you?"

Alex laughed as she opened the door to HQ. "Coming in the door, Monica."

"Okay."

Alex put her cell phone back in her pocket, and walked into the building. When she reached the main room, she found Jake, Cody, and Monica all staring at her, none of them looking very happy.

She just stared back for a minute. "Looks like you all need a happy pill."

"You haven't seen Frank, have you?" Jake asked her.

Alex frowned as she sat down. "No...he's not here? You mean I'm not gonna get chewed out for being late?"

Everyone managed to look sheepish.

"We were _all _late today," said Monica. "But Frank never showed up."

Alex shook her head. It made no sense.

"I don't like it," said Jake, as he paced around the table. "He's never been late before."

"There's a first time for everything." Cody spoke for the first time, not paying much attention as he fooled around with one of the computers.

"I agree with Jake," said Alex, sitting back in her chair. "This isn't like him."

"So do I," Monica piped up. She stood and leaned against the table, crossing her arms. "He isn't the type to not call, at least."

"Something might've happened to him," said Jake, as he took out his cell phone and started to dial. "Call his home," he told Alex.

Alex complied, and counted the rings it took before his answering machine picked up: four.

Jake hung up. "Voice mail."

"Answering machine."

Jake put his phone back in his pocket and started walking towards the door. "I'm going to his place."

Alex jumped up. "I'm coming too! You guys," she said looking at Monica and Cody. "Wait here, see if he calls or shows up. Let us know if he does."

They nodded, both looking worried.

xxxxxxxxxx

"There's his car," said Alex, as Jake drove into the parking garage.

"I don't know if that's a good or bad thing," Jake remarked, as he parked.

The two of them ran into the building and up the stairs. They both had their guns drawn when they reached the appropriate door.

Jake quietly tried the handle and found it locked. He listened for a minute, but heard nothing from inside. He knocked, but no one answered the door. He shot a look at Alex, preparing to kick it open.

Alex nodded, and stood to the side.

Jake stepped in front of the door and kicked it in. They both jumped in pointing their guns; Jake on the left, Alex on the right. What they saw made Alex gasp.

"Frank!"

Their boss was lying on the floor, not moving. Blood covered the back of his shirt.

They both ran over and knelt beside him. Alex felt his neck for a pulse. It was weak and slow, but there. "He's alive."

Jake carefully turned him over. He heard Alex gasp to see that the front of Frank's shirt was more bloodied then the back. "Get some towels!"

Alex jumped up, to comply.

"Frank?" Jake said, a knot growing in the pit of his stomach. He gently tapped his boss' face, but got no response.

Donovan's skin was very pale and cold, his breathing shallow. Jake found the source of the blood to be from two bullet wounds: his left upper arm, and his left shoulder; the bullet there having gone all the way through.

Alex came running back, and they tried to stop the bleeding. They were successful, for the bleeding had slowed on its own before their arrival.

"He's been like this for a long time," Alex said, her voice shaking.

Jake nodded. "Yeah."

"I'll call an ambulance."

"No!" Jake said. "It'll be a lot faster if we take him ourselves."

Alex nodded, nervously.

Jake carefully picked Frank up and managed to carry the taller man down to the car. Alex sat in the back, keeping a tight grip on Frank as Jake drove like a maniac.

"Call the others," Jake told her.

Alex tried to get her cell phone out and dial without jostling Frank too much.

"Hello?" It was Monica's voice.

"Monica! We found Frank. He's been shot, meet us at UIC!"

"We're there!" Monica said, and hung up.

Alex tried to put her phone away, but dropped it when Jake took an especially sharp corner. She held Frank tighter, looked around the car to see if Jake had left a jacket in there that she could use to try to keep Frank warm. Finding nothing, she said, "Turn the heat on."

"I did," said Jake, as he approached a yellow light. It turned red before he reached it, but he made no indication of slowing down. He flew wildly through the light, swerving to avoid a minivan. Cars honked their horns, narrowly missing them and each other.

"Jake!" Alex gasped.

"Sorry!"

Suddenly Alex heard a faint sound; a soft moan. She looked at Frank to see his face twitch slightly.

"Frank!" she said. She put a hand on the side of his face, noting that his skin felt clammy and cold. "Frank, look at me!"

Jake tried to see what was going on in the rearview mirror and drive at the same time.

"Frank, open your eyes!" Alex exclaimed.

To Alex's delight, he did—barely. He looked at her through half-opened eyelids. "Alex?" he whispered.

Alex smiled. "Yeah, Frank." She held him tighter when she felt him shaking; an indication of shock. "We found you, you're gonna be okay."

Frank winced, abruptly losing consciousness once more.

"Frank!" Alex said, panicked. She felt for his pulse again, and sighed in relief when she found it.

"Alex…" Jake said, wanting to know what was going on.

"He woke up, Jake. For a minute, anyway."

Jake screeching around a corner into the hospital parking lot. He pulled up to the Emergency entrance and theyquickly pulled Frank out, carrying him into the door.

"Help!" Jake yelled. "We need help!"


	2. Waiting

None of them were able to sit as they waited for word. Alex and Jake were pacing, neither of them speaking.

Monica sighed as she watched her two friends. Her profiling mind was working, even through her worry. She felt bad for Alex and Jake, knowing that the two had a closer relationship with Frank then she and Cody did. With them, the job was more technical, but with Jake and Alex, it was more personal, the two of them and Frank doing the brunt of the UC work, often together.

"Relax, guys," she couldn't help but say. "We should find out something soon."

Finally Jake spoke. "_When? _What's taking so long!"

As if on cue, a doctor suddenly entered the waiting room.They all stared at the blood on the doctor's clothes, suddenly afraid to ask.

The doctor took his surgical mask off. "I'm Dr. Montgomery. Your friend made it through surgery."

Everyone gave a collective sigh of relief.

Alex found her voice. "How is he?"

This time the doctor sighed. "Not too good. He lost more blood then was good for him, and was already in shock when you got him here. We had to repair damage to some muscles and tendons, and put a pin in his arm where the bullet broke the bone. The slug that went through his shoulder missed an artery by this much," he said, holding his thumb and forefinger a fraction of an inch apart.

Alex's covered her mouth, in alarm.

"Can we see him?" Jake asked, shocked himself.

The doctor shook his head. "Not yet; he's in the recovery room. He may be in there for a while longer; his blood pressure is dangerously low, due to blood loss. After that he'll be moved to the ICU." He paused, looked from one to the other of the four of them. "Who shot him? Do they cops know about this yet?"

Jake stepped closer to the doctor. "We're Federal Agents," he said, quietly, showing his badge. "We don't know yet who did this, and it _cannot_ get out. No news, no reporters."

The doctor nodded, slowly. "I'll cooperate, but I can't say for the nurses and doctors who already came and went."

Jake looked at Alex, who shook her head, knowing it was probably already too late.

xxxxxxxxxx

A couple of hours later, Donovan was moved to the ICU and the team was finally allowed to see him.

It was disturbing, to say the least.

They all just stared, silently, at Frank as he lay unconscious, surrounded by machines. Donovan almost looked like a different person: white as the sheets and as still as a corpse. There was an oxygen mask on his face, an IV on one side containing medication, another on the other side containing blood, and a heart monitor; it's steady beeping the proof that he was still alive.

Jake was the first to speak. "When will he wake up?"

The doctor sighed. "No way to tell. It wouldn't surprise me at all if he didn't for a day or two."

"What!" Alex blurted out. "We gotta find the guy who did this! We can't get him if Frank can't tell us who it was!"

"Calm down, Alex!" Cody said, "It isn't _his_ fault."

Alex sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I-I know. I'm sorry."

"It's all right, Miss, I understand. He will be watched closely twenty-four hours a day. If he should wake, I'll be sure to ask him."

Alex looked at the doctor. She put his age at somewhere around fifty-five. He had a compassionate look in his eyes, and he smiled at her kindly. Alex decided she liked him, and smiled back. "Thanks."

He smiled at her again, and they just stood there for a minute, the sound of the heart monitor seeming to echo through the room.

Jake broke the silence. "He's gonna be okay though, right? I mean, what are his chances?"

The doctor thought for a minute before he spoke. "He should survive, but he's lost a tremendous amount of blood, so we have to monitor him carefully to make sure that none of his organs were damaged . The next couple days are the most critical." He paused. "If you'd gotten him here any later then you did, he wouldn't've made it."

No one said anything. Jake and Alex looked at each other, both thanking God that Jake had elected not to wait for an ambulance.

Monica sighed. "We should go over to his place to see if we can find any clues."

Jake nodded. "Yeah. One of us should stay here though, with him." He looked at the doctor as he said it. It wasn't a question.

Dr. Montgomery nodded. "Of course."

"I'll stay," Alex said.

Jake had anticipated her volunteering. He nodded at her, and they started to leave the room.

"Oh," Jake said, turning back. "If anything should happen…"

Alex nodded. "I'll call you."

"Thanks." Jake took one last look at Frank, and the three collegues left.

Alex saw a chair, and she dragged it over to the bed.

"I'll let the nurses know you'll be in here," said the doctor. "The only thing you need to know…"

"Yes?"

"If any of the machines send off an alarm, or the nurses suddenly run in, make sure you get out of the way fast."

Alex swallowed nervously, knowing exactly what the doctor was trying to say. "All right," was all she managed to get out.


	3. A Shooting...or a Murder?

Monica and Cody followed Jake into Frank's apartment, expecting to see evidence of a struggle; instead they found the place in tip-top shape.

"Where did you find—oh," said Cody, as he saw the bloodstain on the floor.

Monica shuddered involuntarily, at the size of the stain. "Good thing you didn't wait any longer before you went looking for him," she said to Jake.

"Yeah," he answered, looking around for clues.

Cody picked up a piece of mail he found on the floor, and tossed it onto the coffee table. He looked at the doorknob on the door, and found no evidence of forced entry. "Looks like whoever did this did it right."

"Yeah," said Jake, as he knelt on the floor. "Except for one thing."

"What?"

"He didn't succeed; Frank is alive. Hey, look what I found."

Monica and Cody turned to see, as Jake stood up holding a gun.

"Frank's," he said. He looked to the spot on the floor where they'd found him, and then looked to the couch that the gun had been under. It was about ten feet away.

"The gunman never entered the place," he said. He stood near the stain, facing the door. "The jerk was either in the hallway or the doorway. The shot spun Frank," Jake said, turning now. "And made the gun fly out of his hand, where it landed under the couch."

"Yeah," said Cody. "And if Frank had his gun out, then he knew that the person was a threat to him."

"You're forgetting one thing," said Monica.

They both looked at her.

"Frank was shot twice."

They both thought about that for a minute, and then Jake took the clip out of the gun. "Hasn't been fired." He frowned. "He didn't shoot back."

"A woman?" Cody suggested.

"More likely, he didn't have a _chance _to shoot back," said Monica, stepping over the stain and strolling over to the far wall. "If he could've, he would've. The shooter probably used a silencer, too, otherwise people would've heard the shots." She knelt down and picked something up with a handkerchief. She brought it over to them, and held it up.

The bullet.

Jake sighed as he took it, handkerchief and all. Blood stained the white cloth. He rolled it up and stuck it into his pocket. "We should knock on some doors and ask if anyone heard or saw anything." He took out his cell phone, and started to dial.

Monica and Cody stepped closer, knowing who he was calling.

Alex's phone rang, and she was glad she'd remembered to fish it out of Jake's backseat before Jake, Cody, and Monica had left the hospital in his car. "Hello?"

"How is he?"

Alex sighed, watching Frank's still face. "No change, Jake."

Jake sighed.

"Did you find anything?" she asked.

"The bullet, nothing else. But we _figured out _plenty."

"Any clue to the shooter's identity?"

"Not yet. We're gonna question some neighbors, I'll be back there soon."

"Okay." Alex hung up, just as the doctor came in the room.

"Miss?"

Alex looked up at him, and held out her hand when he started to hand her something.

The other bullet.

"I knew you'd need it," he said.

Alex was surprised at its size; a .357. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." The doctor went over to Frank, studied the monitors for a minute, and then took out his stethoscope and listened to his heart. He listened for so long that Alex was about to ask if something was wrong, but then he removed it and slung it around his neck. She stood and moved closer when the doctor started to remove the bandages. He checked the arm wound first; and Alex was surprised for a minute to see that it had apparently doubled in size until she remembered that they'd had to put a pin in the bone. She frowned when she saw a similar-looking scar on his arm not very far from the current wound.

Dr. Montgomery saw the look. "It seems that a bullet broke his arm before."

Alex shook her head, and made a _phew_ sound. "I'm beginning to respect him even more, now."

The doctor smiled at her statement. "From what I've found out about his medical records, he _is _someone to be respected."

Alex wondered what he meant by that. "Has he been shot many times?" She felt foolish asking the question of a stranger when _she _was the one around Frank on a daily basis.

The doctor nodded his head. "Amongst other things."

Before Alex could get further info she heard someone come into the room, and turned to see that it was Jake.

He gave her a thin smile as he walked over to the bed.

"What'd you find out?"

Jake shook his head. "Only that the person wasn't in the apartment. It looks like Frank opened the door, unless it was unlocked, which I doubt. We found Frank's gun; he'd had it drawn."

Alex's eyebrows went up. "Fired?"

Jake shook his head.

"Humm."

Jake looked at the doctor, who was still examining Frank. "How is he, doc?"

"As well as can be expected."

Jake sighed. "That's better then the alternative."

Alex nodded. "I wish he'd wake up. He probably knows who did it."

"I _hope _he knows," said Jake.

Suddenly, the heart monitor started beeping faster, and an alarm sounded. Dr. Montgomery whipped out his stethoscope as two nurses ran into the room.

"What happened!" Alex exclaimed.

Jake stepped back, pulling Alex with him.

"Get them out of here!" the doctor yelled to the nurses.

Alex and Jake tried to see as they were herded out of the room. They could only watch helplessly through the glass, not able to see Frank; the doctor and nurses obscuring their view.

After a few agonizing minutes of watching and praying, Alex and Jake saw the doctor suddenly run over to the IV containing the medication and quickly disconnect it from the needle in Frank's hand. He took the bag off the hook and handed it to one of the nurses, who ran towards the door.

Realizing that she was coming out, Jake and Alex bombarded her with questions the minute she opened the door.

"What happened? Is he all right?"

The nurse almost didn't stop, but compassion made her turn as she walked. "He had a reaction to the medicine," she simply stated, before turning and running down the hall.

"Oh man," Jake said. They turned back to the glass, to see the doctor listening to Frank's heart again and the other nurse readying an injection. They could see the heart monitor now: it kept fluctuating between 169 and 176.

Shocked to see it so dangerously high, Jake and Alex just stood there silently. Suddenly, the number started to drop drastically, and their view was again obscured by the doctor.

The remaining nurse started to run for the door, and as she threw it open, Alex and Jake heard a sound that chilled them to the bone.

Flatline.


	4. Not Frank's Time to Die. *phew!*

"No!" Alex gasped, covering her mouth with both hands.

Both nurses came running back pushing a machine, and Jake held the door for them as they brought it in. He and Alex watched in utter shock as the doctor took out the resuscitation paddles.

"Clear!" he yelled, as the nurses stepped back.

_zap!_

Alex and Jake craned their necks to read the heart monitor, but the shock apparently hadn't worked, for the doctor readied the paddles again.

_zap!_

They watched as Dr. Montgomery watched the monitor, holding the paddles up in case he needed to shock Frank again. To their relief, he slowly lowered them. He picked up the needle the nurse had been interrupted from administering earlier, gave Frank the shot, and hooked up the new IV, which obviously contained a different medicine. He then said something to the nurse, and she went back to the door.

"You can come in now."

Alex and Jake ran to the bed. "He was dead!" Alex blurted, sounding frantic.

"The _medicine_ did that to him?" Jake said, incredulous, searching Frank's pale face to reassure himself that he was indeed all right.

Dr. Montgomery nodded, somberly. "It happens too often. A patient with an unknown allergy, another with a susceptibility to side effects." He sighed. "This one was definitely an allergy. A _severe _one; it almost cost him his life."

They had no time to digest that, for Alex's cell phone rang again, and she saw Monica's number on the display. "Yeah Monica?"

Monica picked up on her worried tone. "What's wrong? Is Frank all right?"

"No—yeah," she sighed. "What's up?"

"Have you seen Jake?"

Alex frowned and looked at him. "He's right here."

"Ah," Monica said. "I called him and he didn't answer."

Alex handed Jake her cell. "Monica?" he said.

"Why didn't you answer your phone?"

Jake took it out and frowned to see the 'missed call' message flashing. It must've rang during the incident with Frank, and they were so nervous that neither he nor Alex had heard it ring.

"Sorry," he said, instead of explaining what had happened. "What's up?"

"None of the neighbors we talked to saw a thing."

Jake sighed. "Great."

"Are you coming back, or should we go over there?"

"I'll come back first, we can take another quick look. Be there in twenty."

"All right."

Jake hit the 'hang up' button, and put the phone in his pocket. "I'm going back to have another look."

Alex nodded, and Jake turned towards the door.

"Jake."

He turned to look at her.

"My phone," she said, with a slight smile.

Jake frowned and took the phone out of his pocket. He saw that it was hers, and gave her a sheepish look as he tossed it to her, and then left.

Alex sighed as she caught it. The mistake only went to show how upset the normally in-control Jake was over the situation.

xxxxxxxxxx

"I don't understand it," said Cody, as they walked down the hall towards Frank's apartment. "Not a single person saw anyone, or any_thing_."

"_Somebody _had to," Jake countered.

"Somebody probably did," said Monica. "Only it wasn't a strange man running down the hall holding a gun. He must've looked...normal, like he belonged there."

Jake stopped walking. "Like someone who lives here?"

Cody shrugged. "Possible."

"We gotta get a list of the building's occupants. All of them. Cody, ask someone who the landlord of this place is, and try to contact him."

Cody nodded and walked back the way they'd come.

"Did you two find the shell casings?" Jake asked, just as he heard a sudden _ping_. He looked at the floor to see that he'd walked into the path of one and accidentally kicked it. He bent down and picked it up.

Monica frowned. "What's it doing all the way down here?" They were a good fifty feet from Frank's apartment.

"Someone probably kicked it like I just did," Jake answered. "Do you see the other?"

"No," Monica answered, as they continued on and entered Frank's apartment.

While they checked around for anything they'd missed, Monica remarked, "This'll be like finding a needle in a haystack. He must have more enemies then we can count."

"The job has its disadvantages," said Jake, ruefully.

Cody came back then, holding a piece of paper. "I got the guy's name and phone number, but no one's answering at his house."

"Figures," said Jake. "Help us look, but keep calling him."

They went over the place with a fine-toothed comb, but came up empty.

Cody tried the landlord for the twentieth time, and shook his head as he hung up his phone.

Jake looked at his watch, surprised to see that it was nearly six pm. It had both been a long, _and _short day. "Let's go back to the hospital," he said.

xxxxxxxxxx

"... There was a report today that a shooting has taken place in northern Chicago. The details are scarce, but it appears that the victim's name is Frank Donovan, a known agent with the Department Of Justice. There's been no word on a suspect, and Donovan's condition was reported as being 'serious' from a source at University of Chicago Hospital. No other details are known."

"Idiot!" Alex exclaimed at the woman on the TV screen. "Go ahead, tell the shooter where to find him!"

Jake, Monica, and Cody walked in then, and Alex shut it off. "They just announced Frank's shooting."

"Great," said Jake, sarcastically, as they all went over to the bed.

Frank looked no different from that morning, still pale and wearing the oxygen mask. Monica reached over and pushed a lock of hair that had fallen forward off Frank's forehead, and her hand brushed his skin. She frowned and placed her hand on his forehead.

"Doc," she said, nervously, as Dr. Montgomery walked through the door. "He's got a fever."

They all quickly moved aside as the doctor came closer. He took Frank's temperature, and confirmed Monica's statement.

"102.4," he told them.

"What does this mean?" Alex asked. "Infection?"

Dr. Montgomery shook his head. "Not necessarily," he said, as he removed the bandages to check the wounds. "Fever is common in someone with injuries like this. He's being given antibiotics to prevent infection." The stitched wounds looked fine, so he bandaged Frank up again and looked at the four worried people.

"We are doing everything within our power to help him, don't worry."

"Thanks," said Alex.

Dr. Montgomery smiled at her, and left the room.

"Okay, what comes next?" Monica asked Jake.

"Well, first of all Frank needs a guard, and I'm gonna be it. Who knows if the guy will come in here and try to kill him again."

"That's true," Cody agreed.

"Tomorrow we'll go through all the files on recent cases where future revenge on Frank is a possibility," Jake continued. "Also we'll check out who got out—or escaped—from prison lately." He sighed and crossed his arms. "But beyond that, I'm not sure yet."

"I still have to get in touch with the building's owner," said Cody.

"And we can try to ask more people if they saw anything," said Monica.

Jake nodded, silently.


	5. The Search Begins

The evening passed by quickly, everyone reluctant to leave. They spoke very little, as thoughts and speculations ran through each of their minds. Frank showed no signs of waking, making them nervous, yet frustrated, knowing that the longer the delay in finding the man who'd shot him, the less likely the chance of ever catching him.

As it approached midnight, Jake finally got Monica and Cody to go home, but only after promising to call them if anything happened, no matter what the time.

"I'm not leaving," said Alex.

Jake sighed, knowing that it would be a waste of time trying to force her to go; she was just as stubborn as he was.

"You can't stay awake all night and then expect your brain to be in detective mode tomorrow," she argued.

Jake shrugged. "So you wanna take turns, is that what you're saying?"

Alex nodded.

"Fine. I'll take the first watch, I can't go to sleep yet."

"All right. Make sure you wake me up," Alex told him, sternly.

"I will."

Alex left the room to ask a nurse for a cot, and it was brought in a few minutes later. She laid down facing Frank, but it was a while before sleep claimed her.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Alex, wake up."

Alex heard Jake's voice, and sat up quickly. "Something wrong?"

Jake shook his head. "No, he's fine. Well—you know what I mean."

Alex nodded and got off the cot. "I'm surprised you woke me up."

Jake made a face at her. "I need sleep too, you know. Anything happens, wake me," he said.

"Yup."

A few minutes later, Alex heard Jake's breathing slow down, indicating that he was asleep. She sighed, watching Frank's face.

"Frank?" she whispered.

Nothing.

Alex sighed, thinking back to when they'd first met. Frank had seemed brusque, a no-nonsense type. They'd all thought at first that he was a stern workaholic lacking a sense of humor, but in truth Frank had just been trying to see how tough they were, how they were at taking orders, and how well they handled the dangerous job that they had. Alex remembered the day that Frank told her she was 'silly'. She couldn't quite remember the reason he'd said it, in her currently half-asleep mind, but she remembered just staring at him, in surprise. He'd smiled, and the ice had been broken. From then on, he'd become part of their little family.

"Frank," she whispered. "You gotta wake up." Alex strained her ears to see if Frank made any sound, but all she heard was the heart monitor and Jake's slight snoring. She studied Frank's face, thinking that somehow he looked worse then earlier. She felt his forehead and found it pretty hot. She wondered if she should find a nurse, not knowing how much time had passed since one had come in to check on him. She heard footsteps and went to the door to see a doctor coming down the hall.

"Doctor? Can you come in here for a minute."

"What's wrong?"

"He has a fever," Alex told him, as they went over to the bed. "I think it may've risen."

The doctor went over to the chart at the end of the bed and read it. "Ah, this is the Federal Agent who got shot."

Alex nodded.

Jake suddenly made a louder snore, and the doctor looked at him with a laugh as he took Frank's temperature. His expression changed to one of concern. "You're right, it has."

Alex got a hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach. "To what?"

"103.2."

Alex said nothing, putting a hand to her forehead. She took five deep breaths, and asked, "What do we do?"

The doctor shook his head. "Injuries like this cause fever often—"

"I know, Dr. Montgomery said that. But one this high?"

"Considering the seriousness of his injuries, possibly. Especially considering that he had a reaction to medicine," the doctor went on, still reading Frank's chart. "This could be a result of that too."

Alex sighed, and sat down again.

"I'll tell the nurses," the doctor said, walking towards the door.

Alex didn't answer. After the doctor left, she whispered, "You die on us, Frank, and I'll _kill_ you."

xxxxxxxxxx

Jake heard a noise, but it didn't penetrate his tired mind until he came awake enough to remember where he was. He dove off the cot, and ran to where Alex was standing next to Frank's bed, gently holding his IV laden right hand in both of hers. At first Jake thought Frank was awake, but he quickly saw that he wasn't conscious, but delirious.

"Why didn't you wake me up!" Jake said, as he watched Frank move around slightly, occasionally muttering or groaning.

"It just started!" she told him.

The nurses ran into the room, alerted by Alex having pressed the call button on the wall. They saw what the problem was without having to ask, and Jake and Alex again stood back as the nurses did their job. Eventually one of them left, while the one who had spoken to them earlier remained. She looked at Alex and Jake, and shook her head.

"What a shame, the poor guy. He's such a handsome man." She suddenly looked back at Alex as if she'd done something wrong. "Oh, are you his wife?"

Alex smiled. "No."

The nurse was relieved. "Good. I thought I blew it, there."

"How is he?" Jake asked.

"To tell you the truth, he _could _be better, but the fever should come down with the medicine we just gave him."

Alex looked at Jake with a relieved smile as the nurse left.

Jake looked at his watch. 7:45. He almost groaned at what little sleep he'd gotten, when Monica and Cody walked in.

When Monica saw Alex in the same clothes as the previous day, she nudged Cody and said, "Told ya she'd stay."

Cody nodded at her, and the two of them looked at Frank with concern as he continued to toss.

"Delirious," Alex explained.

"Oh no!" Monica said. "Can't they do anything about it?"

"They gave him something, said the fever should go down," Jake said, his voice betraying his uncertainty.

Monica and Cody sighed in unison. After a minute Cody asked, "Where do you want us to start?"

"Try to get in touch with the building owner. While you're doing that, go back over to the place and try to ask more people if they saw or heard anything. Monica, you and I will go through files and try to figure out who could've done this." He looked at Alex. "Looks like you're still stuck here. Unless you wanna trade places with Monica."

Alex wished she could have a part in getting the man who'd done this, but then again she was glad that she didn't have to wonder about Frank's condition like the rest of them. She also knew that someone needed to be with Frank at all times. "No, I'll stay."

Jake nodded. "Okay. We'll keep you updated, you do the same."

She returned the nod, and they left.

Alex sighed as she sat in the chair beside the bed, leaning her arms on the bed's rails. Frank had calmed, only moving or muttering once in a while. Alex wished she could understand the words; what if he was reliving in his mind what had happened? She groaned in frustration.

"You sound like _you're _the one who got shot."

Alex looked up at the nurse as she walked forward to change Frank's bandages. "I wish he would wake up and tell us who did this," she said.

The nurse nodded. "It's such a terrible thing."

Alex was silent, watching as the nursechanged the bandages and left. She suddenly realized that the oxygen mask was gone, and smiled to herself, considering it an improvement. _Now, if only he'd wake up,_ she thought. There was only one other thing besides waiting that she could think of doing, and Alex did it. Prayer.

xxxxxxxxxx

Jake and Monica walked into HQ; feeling like it'd been a week since they'd been there. It was an odd feeling knowing that Frank wasn't there and most likely wouldn't be for a while. They went into a closet where boxes were piled up, all with dates on them.

"Where should we start?"

Jake sighed, thinking. "Six months ago, I guess."

Monica nodded, and started pulling boxes out.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Hello?"

Cody smiled when he heard an actual voice on the other end of the phone. "Hi, is this Mr. McGowan?"

"Yes."

"Great. My name is Cody, I needed to let you know that there was a…shooting at the building you own yesterday."

The landlord went nuts. "WHAT! Was anyone hurt?"

Cody sighed. "Your tenant Frank Donovan."

"Oh no!"

"He should be all right," Cody said, hoping he was telling the truth. "But I'd like to know if I could meet you, and see a list of the building's occupants?"

There was silence for a second. "You a Fed too?"

Cody nodded, even though McGowan couldn't see him. "Yeah. This shooting was deliberate."

"Geez. Are you there now?"

"Yes, on Frank's floor."

"Good, I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"All right." Cody hung up, glad that _some_ progress was finally being made.


	6. Finally, a Clue!

Monica slapped down the file on the table and wrote the name of the criminal and what they'd been after him for on a piece of paper.

Jake did the same, wondering how in the world they were gonna figure out which of them —if any— it was who had tried to kill their boss.

Suddenly Jake's phone rang, making both of them jump. Jake whipped it out quickly, afraid that it was Alex informing them of yet another crisis.

"Hello?"

"Hey Jake, find anything yet?"

Jake sighed with relief to hear the normal tone of Alex's voice.

"Heh, no, nothing. How's Frank doing?"

Alex looked at Frank with a sigh. He laid there very still, his chest rising and falling gently in unconsciousness. "Still out."

Jake stood up, looking at his watch as he started to pace. "It's been over thirty hours! He _has_ to wake up soon. Make sure you watch him for any sign, Alex."

She resisted the urge to say, '_Duh, what do you think I've been doing all this time?_' "I will. Let me know if you find anything out."

"Yup." He hung up, sticking the phone back in his pocket. He just stood there, staring in exasperation at the piles of files, knowing it was possible that the shooter wasn't even one of the people in them. _That_ was something he was unable to accept.

xxxxxxxxxx

Cody left Frank's apartment and looked down the hall, waiting for the landlord. He was growing impatient at the delay, wanting nothing more then to get a good, solid clue. A woman came around the corner and saw him leaning against the wall, as she paused at her door.

"Sir?" she said. "Can I help you with something?"

Cody looked up, realizing that she was a tenantthat he somehow hadn't spoken with. "Uh, you live here?"

"Yes," she said, taking out her keys.

Cody studied her to make sure that he was correct. No, he definitely hadn't talked to her. She had red hair that he would've remembered. "Did you hear what happened here, early yesterday morning?" he asked.

She looked at him with a frown. "No, what do you mean?"

"Do you know Frank Donovan?"

Her eyes grew huge. "He lives over there," she said, nodding towards Frank's door. "Did something happen to him?"

Cody nodded. "He was shot. Someone came here and shot him."

"Oh my gosh!" she said, dropping her keys.

"You didn't see anything suspicious, did you?" asked Cody, picking them up. "Yesterday morning?"

She shook her head as he handed them to her, still wearing a shocked expression. "No, and I was up early too. Around what time?"

Cody sighed, not knowing for sure. "Early. Before 8, I think."

The woman sighed. "I was outta here before then. I didn't notice anything odd beforeI left." Suddenly she smiled.

Cody frowned. "What?"

She shook her head. "Nothing, just the mailman."

"What about him?"

She started to laugh. "Well, as I walked out my door, I was almost plowed into by him! He nearly ran me over."

Alarm bells went off in Cody's head. "The mailman? What does he look like?"

She frowned at his question. "Blond hair, blue eyes, real nice guy," she frowned again. "The usual one, anyway."

"Usual one?"

"Well, once in a while there's a different carrier; when he can't come in for some reason..."

Cody sighed, in frustration. "Okay, what did _this_ one look like?"

She thought for a minute. "Dark hair. I didn't get to see his face, he was past me before I even had a chance to blink. Tall, thin." She shrugged.

Cody scratched his chin. "All right, thanks. If you happen to think of anything else, let me know."

As she took his business card, she asked. "How is Frank? Where was he shot?"

"Shoulder and arm; he'll make it." He couldn't help but ask his next question. "You two know each other well?"

He wasn't at all surprised to see her blush. "No, just in passing. He seems to be a very nice man."

"Yeah." If the situation weren't so dire, Cody would've laughed at the woman's puppy-love expression. _He gets all the girls_, he thought, with a sigh.

Just then an older man came around the corner. "Good morning, Tracy."

"Good morning, Mr. McGowan!" She could see that her landlord and Cody wanted to talk, so she smiled at them and entered her apartment.

"Cody, I assume," said McGowan, holding out his hand.

"That's me," Cody replied, shaking it.

McGowan held out the piece of paper he was holding. "Here's the list."

"Thanks." Cody glanced at it and put it in his pocket. His cell phone decided to ring at that moment, and he answered it. "Yeah?"

"Any luck?" Monica.

"Possibly. Call the post office and find out who the mailman was who delivered mail here yesterday. He was seen running like a maniac down the hall around that time."

"Really? Will do."

"Okay." He hung up, noting that McGowan had walked a short distance away while he was on the phone. Whether to give him privacy, or out of intimidation that he shouldn't listen to 'top secret info', Cody wasn't sure.

McGowan turned when Cody went back over to him. "Can you tell me exactly what happened?"

Cody sighed, and told him.

xxxxxxxxxx

"He was? Do they know who did it? What hospital?" 

Jake looked up as Monica wrote down what she was being told.

"Thanks." Monica practically slammed down the phone and grabbed her jacket. "The mailman was attacked that morning, and his uniform stolen. He's in the same hospital as Frank."

Jake jumped up. "What? Our guy disguised himself as the _mailman_?"

"Looks that way."

Jake threw the file he was reading down onto the table. "Let's go."

xxxxxxxxxx

Alex sighed as she watched Frank's face, hoping for a sign that he was about to wake. She studied him, not liking the fact that he was still extremely pale. She looked at her watch and was surprised at the time. 4pm. Sighing again, she said, "Frank, please, you _have_ to wake up. We can't find the jerk who shot you if you can't tell us who it was!" She waited to see if he would respond, but he didn't. She stood up and started to pace, running her fingers through her hair in frustration.

A nurse came into the room, and replaced the IV bag containing the blood. She gave Alex a sympathetic smile as she left the room. Alex walked back over to the bed, and glanced at the IV. What she saw almost made her heart stop. She hit the call button on the wall and ran over to the IV, quickly detaching it from her boss and yanking it off the stand.

Dr. Montgomery came running in response to the call. "What's wrong?"

"This!" Alex held up the bag. It read B+.

Frank's blood type was 0+.


	7. Murder Attempt #2

"So you didn't see who attacked you?" The man in the bed shook his head. "Not a thing. I was standing there, and *wham* suddenly I saw stars." 

Monica fought the urge to scream, as she looked at Jake, who wore an expression of ultimate frustration. He closed his eyes, and ran a hand over them. "Okay. That's it?"

"Sorry, I wish I knew more," said the mailman, with a sigh. "Is Mr. Donovan all right?"

"He will be. If you think of anything, can you let us know, please?"

The mailman nodded. 

They left the room, and headed straight for Frank's. "This is crazy," he commented, to Monica.

"I know. At this rate, we might _never_ find out who did it."

"Yeah, until he tries again."

They were silent the rest of the way to the room. When they were almost there, a nurse ran past them holding a packet of blood, and into Frank's room. 

Jake and Monica looked at each other, and followed at a run. Jake's phone started to ring as they ran in, and when he saw Alex holding hers to her ear, it was obvious who the caller was. 

"What happened?" Jake said, going to the side of the bed.

"They gave him the wrong blood!"

"What?!" Monica exclaimed.

"I…grabbed it, before it had a chance to hurt him," Alex said, remembering her not-too-gentle action.

"Thank God," Monica whispered.

"How did this happen?" Jake demanded.

Alex shook her head. "I wish I knew."

"I am about to find out," said a voice behind them. It was Dr. Montgomery, with a frightened-looking nurse standing next to him.

"I-I just took the blood they gave me, and brought it up here," the young girl said, no louder then a whisper.

"Who gave it to you?"

"I did."

They turned to see another woman enter the room. It was the Head Nurse, having been told what had happened. 

"You did, Barb? Tell us," Dr. Montgomery asked her.

"I got a call to run up some 0+ to this room. I gave it to Rae, and she took it up."

"Did you actually placed it in her hand?" Jake asked.

She looked at him, as if to say, 'who the heck are you'. "No, I didn't. I told her where it was going, and placed it on the counter."

"Is this counter near the door?"

"Yes, it is."

Jake thought for a minute. "And then you," he looked at Rae. "Took it and brought it up here."

Rae nodded, looking shocked over the situation. 

Jake made a motion with his head to the doctor, indicating that the nurses should leave. 

Dr. Montgomery ushered them out the door, and looked expectantly to Jake.

"It was the mailman."

"Huh?" The doctor and Alex both said.

"We found out that the man who did this was disguised as the mailman. He was obviously here, and switched the blood. B+ on the label can be mistaken for 0+ if not looked at very well. Rae there took it from her superior, having no doubt that it was the right one, and so didn't notice that it was the wrong type."

"It's not exactly easy to go into the blood bank and switch blood," said the doc.

"Not easy, but not impossible," Jake said. "This guy obviously likes disguises. It wouldn't be hard to find a doctor uniform or a lab coat, and simply walk in there like he owned the place."

They were all silent for a minute, as they realized that the danger was mounting now that the shooter was trying to kill Frank in the hospital. 

The doctor sighed. "Let me go explain to the nurses, they're probably wondering."

Jake nodded. "Ask them if they saw anyone in there at that time."

Dr. Montgomery nodded, and left. 

Suddenly Cody walked in. "Hey guys. Did you find out about the mailman?" he asked.

Before anyone had a chance to answer him, they suddenly heard a noise. Turning to the bed, they saw Frank move slightly, and wince.

"Frank!" Alex said, as they rushed closer. 

********************

Pain. That was the first thing he noticed.

The second thing; he had no idea what had happened.

The third thing; he had no idea where he _was_.

The fourth thing; everything was black. He realized the reason for that being that his eyes were shut.

He tried to move, eyes still closed, but abandoned that idea when the pain intensified, shooting through his left shoulder all the way down his left arm. It made him gasp, and it took him a while to figure out that someone's hand was on his good arm. Suddenly realizing that he heard voices, he figured it would be a good idea to see who they belonged to. 

Finally opening his eyes, he saw people that looked familiar, but he drew a blank on their names. He just blinked up at their slightly fuzzy faces, wracking his muddled brain to tell him who they were.

They all smiled at Frank with relief when he finally looked at them, but their relief turned to fear when they saw his blank stare.

"Frank?" Jake said, nervously.

In a flood, it all came back to him. Frank sighed, in relief himself. "Jake."

Everyone smiled. "How do you feel?" Alex asked, fighting the urge to ask now who'd shot him, wanting to at least give him a minute to really wake up.

Frank winced as pain shot through him again. "Terrible," he admitted. His voice sounded weak and hoarse. "What happened?"

If he'd been paying attention, Frank would've seen their jaws drop. "You mean you don't know who shot you?" Monica said, in disbelief.

_Oh, someone shot me,_ he thought. "No," he whispered, closing his eyes again. 

The team exchanged glances with each other, not sure what to do. "Maybe he's just disorientated?" Alex suggested. 

Jake sighed, leaning closer to the bed. "Frank?" 

Frank didn't answer.

Jake put his hand on Frank's good arm. "Frank," he said again, a little louder.

This time Frank opened his eyes, slowly. Jake could see the glassy look to them, and hoped that Alex was right; it was either disorientation or the meds.

"Frank, you're in University of Chicago Hospital. You were shot yesterday, possibly by someone posing as your mailman. Do you remember?"

Frank looked at him as if he were nuts. "I was shot…by the mailman?"

Alex almost laughed. That was _not_ the usual type of statement Frank Donovan would make. 

"No, it wasn't your real mailman. It was someone posing as him."

"Oh," Frank whispered, again closing his eyes, and falling back to sleep. 

Alex shook her head in bewilderment at Frank's uncharacteristic behavior. She stepped closer and felt Frank's forehead. "He still has a fever," she said. "Between that, the drugs, and finally waking after a day and a half, it looks like has no clue what's going on."

"I hope he remembers when he's more coherent," Jake said, crossing his arms. "If he doesn't, we're in _big_ trouble."


	8. Thickheaded Frank

"Alex."

Alex looked up from her doze to see Frank looking at her. She gave him a smile. "Hey, boss! How do you feel?"

"I've been…better," he answered, groggily. He sighed, trying to keep his eyes open. "Tell me…what…happened."

Alex tried not to let her feelings show in her face. _He still doesn't remember._ "We found you at your place yesterday morning. You'd been shot in your arm and shoulder."

"How bad?"

Alex sighed. "Pretty bad. You'd been there a long time by the time we found you, and lost a _lot_ of blood. They had to repair some muscles and things, and they put a pin in your arm; the bullet broke it. The other went all the way through your shoulder." She elected not to mention the close call with the artery.

Frank sighed. _Great. Two bullet wounds and a broken arm too. Again._ "More therapy," he groaned.

Alex hadn't quite heard him. "What was that, Frank?"

He didn't answer.

She leaned closer, studying his face. "Frank?"

"What?"

 "Do you remember _anything_ that happened?"

Frank didn't answer immediately. He tried to think, but his brain felt like it was full of cotton, and he had a strange floating sensation. His arm and shoulder were throbbing mercilessly, but he was no whiner so he said nothing about it. "I don't, Alex. Nothing." 

Alex sighed, leaning her chin on her arms on the bed rail, just as Jake walked in with two cups of coffee.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned, handing her one of the cups.

"He still doesn't remember."

"He's awake?" Jake said, looking at Frank.

Frank's eyes were closed again, and he hadn't reacted to Jake's voice.

"He _was_," Alex corrected.

*********************

The night passed without mishap, but also without Frank waking again. By the time he did, it was well into the morning, and he awoke to Alex and Jake's voices.

"Why don't you go home and take a shower, Alex. You've been in the same clothes for 3 days," Jake joked. 

Frank opened his eyes, and they stopped talking. 

"How you doing, Frank?" Jake asked him, relieved to see him awake.

"All right," Frank lied. He suddenly realized what Jake had said to Alex, and he looked at her to realize that she looked slightly disheveled. No makeup, having obviously worn off, and her hair flat.

"Alex," he said. "You were here…all the time?"

She smiled at him, waving her hand as if it was no big deal. 

Frank was touched, and smiled at her. "Thanks."

She smiled wider. "No problem. Hey, Jake was too, overnight."

Frank looked at Jake, who shrugged. "You needed a bodyguard," he said, with a smirk.

Frank smiled at that. Jake was a good 4 or 5 inches shorter then him. "Thanks…both of you."

"You're welcome. Okay, enough sentimentality," said Jake, with a laugh. He looked at Alex again. "Go home, take a shower. When you're ready, you might as well go to HQ and find out from Monica and Cody what's going on with the investigation. I'll stay here for a while."

Alex nodded, and stood. "Okay. See you later." She patted Frank on his good arm, and left.

"What's been going on?" Frank asked. 

Jake sighed. "A lot, but then again, not much."

Frank blinked. "I think…that statement…made me more…confused…then I already am."

Jake noticed Frank's voice growing weaker with each word, so he tried to figure out how to explain everything to him in simple terms, and keep it short enough not to wear him out. 

He sighed. "Well, we found you at your apartment after you hadn't shown up for work—"

Frank nodded. "Alex told me."

"After we brought you here and you made it through the surgery, we left Alex here and went back to your place. We found your gun under the couch." Jake paused, hoping that Frank was capable of processing all the details.

Frank's eyebrows went up, at mention of the gun's landing place.

"You obviously had taken it out," Jake continued.

"Fired?" Frank asked, sounding tired.

_He doesn't even remember if he shot back or not! _"No. We figured out that the person shot you from out in the hallway, we found one of the shell casings further down the hall, they must've gotten kicked. We found out later that the mailman was seen running like a maniac, and that it wasn't the usual guy. When we looked into it, we found out that the regular mailman had been attacked and his uniform stolen off him." Jake stopped, realizing that he probably had said too much too fast. "Did you get all that?"

Frank nodded slightly, eyes now closed. 

"We came here and talked to the mailman, who's okay by the way, and found out that he didn't see the man who'd done it. That's really where we're at, now. We started going through case files, to see if any particular jerk we caught could have a vendetta against you." Jake suddenly remembered what had happened after the interview with the mailman. "Still with me, Frank?"

Frank nodded again, opening his eyes. Jake could see the pain in them. 

"Do you want me to call a nurse? I'm sure she'll give you something…"

Frank shook his head, though he would've liked nothing more. "I'm fine."

Jake didn't believe him. "By the way, did you know that you have a medicine allergy?" he asked.

Frank frowned. "No…what happened?"

Jake wondered if he should've said anything. _Should've let the doctor tell him_. "Well…your heart all of a sudden went haywire, and then…" he hesitated, trying not to let his mind replay the horrible scene. "It stopped. They had to change the medicine. Maybe you should wear one of those medical alert bracelets."

Frank frowned. "Did you stay…it…_stopped_?"

Jake nodded.

Frank said nothing, but he looked even paler now. "What medicine?" he asked.

Jake shrugged. "Don't know."

Frank didn't like the idea of a bracelet, but he wasn't stupid. "Ask for me?" he said, knowing with the current state of his brain he would most likely forget.

Jake nodded. "I will."

"Thanks," Frank whispered.

"No problem." Jake said softly, seeing that his boss was falling asleep. He sat there for a while, trying to figure out what to do next. So far the team had gone through nearly all of the past 6 months-worth of cases, and after putting aside the ones that didn't meet the description—however vague—of the fake mailman, most of the remaining criminals were still in jail, and of the ones that weren't, none really struck them as being the one. Cody had gone through the list of occupants of the apartment building, and aside from some motor vehicle violations, no one was a wanted criminal or anyone that Frank had ever dealt with. No one had escaped from prison lately, either, so Jake was frustrated, wishing they could find the person responsible and get it over with, so they could go back to their normal lives. _Yeah,_ _If you could consider 'normal' going undercover pretending to be a criminal so you could catch a criminal. _He almost laughed at the thought. 

Suddenly his stomach growled loudly. He realized that he hadn't eaten in hours, but he didn't want to leave Frank.

"Someone sounds hungry," said a voice.

It was Tracy. 

Jake laughed, slightly embarrassed that she'd heard it. "Yeah, I'm starved."

"Why don't you go to the cafeteria? I'll stay with him," she said, as she fussed around Frank.

Jake hesitated. 

"Oh, come on. He'll be fine."

Jake shrugged. "Okay, I'll be quick." He hurried as fast as he could and ate something he wasn't sure he wanted identified. _No wonder people hate hospital food._ When he got back to the room, he was surprised to hear a female voice yelling.

"Mr. Donovan! What do you think you're _doing_?!" 

Jake ran in to find that Frank was sitting—if you could call it that—on the edge of the bed, Tracy holding onto his arm. 

"Frank! What the…" he ran over and grabbed him, as Frank looked like he was on the verge of passing out. He tried to lie him back down, but Frank protested.

"No, Jake…"

"What are you trying to do, Frank? You wanna kill yourself or something?"

Eirian ran in at the sound of Tracy's voice, and together they stood, watching.

"Jake," Frank said softly, seeming out of breath. "Have to…get out."

"Out of the hospital? Are you nuts? Why?" 

Frank concentrated on breathing for a minute, trying to blink back the gray threatening to overshadow his vision. "We have…a job…to do."

Jake snorted. "No; Alex, Monica, Cody, and _I_ have a job to do. The only job _you_ can do is lie here and recover."

Frank shook his head. "Let go."

Jake realized he had a death grip on Frank's good arm, and eased off a little, realizing that he probably gave his boss a pretty good bruise.

"Frank, why are you doing this, you're in no shape to leave here!"

"And I can't _think_…while I'm here." Frank paused. "You have nothing…to go on. I was there…you need me…to catch him."

Jake sighed, thinking his boss to be the most stubborn man on Earth. Even though Frank was right that they needed him, how could the man possibly function? He couldn't even remember what had happened! 

Frank must've seen Jake's uncertainty, and he tried to get up again. Jake tried to prevent him, but then helped him instead, knowing that when Frank got there, he wouldn't be able to stand, and it would change his mind.

Jake was only half right. Frank could not stand, but it did not change his mind. His legs wouldn't hold him, and he fell against Jake, who'd naturally expected it.

Tracy and Eirian moved closer to help, but Jake made a face at them, to stay where they were. 

He tried again to sit Frank on the bed, thinking he had learned his lesson, but Frank stubbornly refused to let him. 

"Jake, I'm leaving."

"Why?!" Jake exploded. "We can do this ourselves!" 

Frank couldn't stand any longer, and he finally let Jake sit him down. "Listen to me," Frank started.

"No, _you_ listen to _me_!" said Jake. "You have been shot. Twice! You lost nearly all your blood, developed a fever, was unconscious for two days, ended up delirious, and almost got killed by an allergic reaction to medicine, _and_ the wrong blood! Are you outta your mind?"

Frank was trying so hard to contain his pain and weakness that he didn't even notice the mention of the switched blood, which he had yet to be told.

"Jake…please," he said, switching tactics, not having the energy to fight.

Jake was shocked for a minute, over the fact that he'd said what he did, and the fact that Frank didn't go nuts over it. _Talk about insubordination, Jake! _he thought to himself with a sigh. If he didn't help Frank, he knew that his boss would get out without his help—when he wasn't there to stop him, most likely—and then he could get hurt or worse. 

Frank watched him, waiting to see what he would do. There was no way he could get out on his own, he knew, and he wished Jake would hurry and make up his mind before he fell off the bed.

"Jake…" he said, trying to force some strength into his voice.

"All right, all right," Jake said, feeling like he was making a horrible mistake. "But anything happens and you're coming right back here." 

Frank nodded, not liking that Jake was treating him like a subordinate, but taking what he could get.


	9. Frank at HQ

"Phew," Alex said, taking a sip of coffee as she sat at the HQ table. "What an insane week it's been so far."

"Yeah," Cody agreed. "I wonder how long Frank'll be in the hospital."

"Probably a while," said Monica, as they continued going through files.

"Not as long as you think," they heard.

They looked up at the sound of Jake's voice, to see him slowly helping Frank into the room. 

Everyone immediately jumped up from their chairs and started talking at once.

"Frank, are you nuts?!"

"Jake, are YOU nuts?!"

"Are you BOTH nuts?!"

Jake stopped, holding his hand up to make them stop. "Come on guys, quiet down, huh?"

Alex looked at Frank and shook her head. The poor guy looked like he couldn't even stand up; he was leaning his full weight on Jake, who started to bring him over to the table. 

The three of them all reached out to help, but couldn't figure out how, since Jake was on Frank's right side, and his left arm was in a sling. 

Jake got him to the table and carefully sat him in a chair. Frank winced when his shoulder touched the back of it. He closed his eyes, trying not to let his pain show, the others not knowing that he had refused pain medication in the hospital that day so that he could think clearly, instead of being disadvantaged by medicine-induced fuzziness. He began to wonder if _pain_-induced fuzziness was much better.

Frank felt a hand on his good shoulder, and opened his eyes again. The team was staring at him, in concern.

"What?" he asked.

"I asked if you were all right," Jake said, worriedly.

Frank nodded. "I'm fine."

They all gave him looks as if to say, 'yeah, right'.

"What's been done?" he asked. 

They all sat again and told him everything, from when they'd found him, to the mailman, to the list of building occupants. Frank had a hard time getting it all, and they had to repeat some of it. 

By the time they finished, Frank felt like he couldn't even sit up anymore. Alex had gotten up from her seat, and Frank saw that her cup of coffee still had some in it. _Maybe caffeine is what I need, _he  thought. He carefully reached for it, but it was suddenly snatched away before he had a chance to get it. He looked up to see Alex frowning at him.

"Thought you were done," he said, with a sheepish look.

"You can't drink _coffee_!" she said, putting it down out of his reach.

"Why?" he asked. 

"Caffeine is the _last_ thing you need!" Alex told him.

He sighed in reply. It turned into a gasp when a massive wave of pain suddenly shot through him, stealing his breath away. 

They all immediately surrounded him. 

"Cody! Go get him some water," Jake said, taking the bottle of pills the hospital had given him out of his pocket.

Cody ran to comply, coming back at warp speed. "Here!" he said, handing it to Jake.

"Frank," Jake said, trying to put two of the pills in his hand. "Frank, take these."

Frank shook his head, eyes closed, breathing heavily. The pain was horrible, lacing up and down his arm, through his shoulder and into his chest and neck. Their hands were the only thing keeping him in his seat.

Jake briefly considered ramming the pills down his throat, but didn't want to accidentally choke him. They were forced to wait it out, and finally Frank's breathing slowed, and he opened his eyes again. When Jake saw the change in Frank's face, he mentally kicked himself for letting him leave the hospital. If his boss looked pale and sick before, it was doubled now.

"This is crazy, Frank! What are you doing here?" Monica demanded, bewildered. 

Frank just looked at her, not having the strength to answer.

"Why won't you take the pills?" Alex asked him, sounding very upset.

Frank tried to figure out how to explain using as few words as possible. "Can't think…with them," he whispered.

Monica's profiling mind understood quickly. "He wants to help find the guy but the medicine dulls his senses."

Frank nodded. Good way to put it.

Alex sighed. "But Frank, you can't go on like this."

"She's right," Jake said. "Anyone got anything he can take?"

"Sorry, nothing here," Cody said, shrugging apologetically.

"Tylenol," said Alex.

"Aspirin," said Monica.

"That'll work," Jake said, taking it when Monica dug it out of her purse. He handed them to Frank and helped him drink the water. 

"Thanks," Frank whispered, willing the room to stop spinning.

"You should lie down," Alex said, crossing her arms. "You need rest."

Frank shook his head. "No…I need to…remember…who it was."

"The 'mailman'?" Monica asked.

Frank nodded, with a sigh.

Everyone else echoed it. 

Jake grabbed the closest chair, and, with his hand still on Frank's good arm, pulled it closer and sat in it, facing him.

"How about this. I throw guesses at what might've happened, and you see if anything rings a bell."

Frank nodded, tiredly.

"Okay," Jake said. "The mailman. He always comes in the morning, obviously. That day he got to your place, and you ended up shot. It wasn't the usual mailman, because he'd been attacked and his clothes stolen. Now, first; how did your door get open?"

Frank blinked, trying to ignore the pain and think. He _always_ locked his door. If it was open, then the man had picked it, forced it open, broken it down…or _he'd_ opened it.

"Door damaged?" he asked.

"No," Jake answered, as they all watched Frank intently.

Frank sighed, suddenly frowned a minute later.

"What?" Jake asked.

Frank didn't answer.

"What's wrong? Are you all right?" Jake gently shook his shoulder, and Frank looked at him.

"You all right?" he repeated.

Frank nodded, slowly. "I recall…knocking."

"He knocked?" Jake asked.

Frank frowned again, trying to bring back the memory.

"He knocked, figuring you'd assume he needed you to sign for something?" Alex suggested.

Frank looked at her, eyebrows slightly raised. "Makes sense," he said. Then he sighed again, and rubbed his forehead. "Why can't I remember!"

"It happens, Frank," said Monica. "Trauma can wipe out the memory of the incident, you know that. It's a mystery of the mind."

"Happened to me once," said Cody.

They all looked at him.

"One time my mother made liver for dinner. It was so traumatic that I still can't remember if she forced me to eat it or not."  
  


That statement was so unexpected, that it made them all bust out laughing, easing some of the tension. 

Frank had to hold it in, for laughing increased his pain. He closed his eyes again, wondering how he was going to make it like this. He suddenly felt a hand on his forehead.

"Still has a fever," Alex said. "Why don't you guys bring the couch in here. Frank, have you eaten any decent food?"

Frank shook his head at her. 

"I'll go see if we have any soup," Monica said, leaving for the kitchen.

"Go on, guys," Alex said to Jake. "I'll keep an eye on him."

Jake nodded and he and Cody left the room.

Alex sat in the chair Jake had vacated. "How do you feel?"

Frank resisted the urge to laugh at the question. "Wish I could…remember," he said, knowing Alex had meant physically, but he felt so horrible there weren't adequate words to describe it.

"I know, so do I," Alex said, smiling sympathetically.

"I might know him," Frank said. "All this time…I might know…who it is…"

Alex had to fight her emotions. She'd never seen Frank this way; so vulnerable, so helpless. _Frank Donovan, helpless? Never._ She had to fight the anger that she felt, at the shooter and at Frank's inability to remember. 

"If you do, it'll come back to you," she said, ever hopeful.

At that moment Jake and Cody came back carrying the couch, and they placed it on the floor near the table. Alex helped Frank up and supported him over to it, where they laid him down. 

Frank bit his lip to avoid wincing, and looked up at them when they all just stood there staring at him.

"You all right?" Alex asked.

Frank was already getting tired of that question. "Yes."

Monica came back a minute later with a big bowl of chicken noodle soup, some crackers, and a cup of tea. "Decaf," she said, with a smirk. 

Jake looked at her in surprise. "Who drinks decaf?"

"Who drinks _tea_?" said Cody.

They all just looked at each other, no one admitting it.

"I do," Frank said.

They looked at him like he had two heads.

"Occasionally," he clarified, with a half-smile.

They all nodded, as if to say, 'riiiight'.

Monica pulled a chair over, and Frank realized that she intended to feed him. 

"I can feed myself," he said, his male pride not allowing it; weak or not.

"No you can't."

Frank made a face. "Yes I can," he said, trying to sit up using his one good arm. 

Alex helped him, and he held out his hand and Monica gave him the bowl. He realized then that he needed two arms. He looked up to see everyone trying not to laugh.

"No you can't," Monica repeated, smiling. 

Jake figured out a solution that wouldn't damage Frank's ego, and pulled the chair closer to him so he could sit the bowl on it. 

"He can now," Jake said, with a laugh.

"Stubborn male pride," Alex whispered to Monica. 

They watched Frank to make sure he ate it all, which he did gladly. Hospital food really was terrible.

"Thanks, Monica," he said, as she took the empty bowl.

"Anytime," she answered. "Anything else you need?" 

Frank shook his head tiredly, as he carefully sat back against the couch. He realized that he was shivering, suddenly feeling very cold. He hoped it didn't mean that his fever had gone up again. He hoped even more that it wasn't obvious. 

Jake noticed, but didn't say anything, knowing how his boss was. He went over to the thermostat and turned up the heat, and then went to one of the closets and grabbed a blanket. Coming back over, he said, "Why don't you take a nap, Frank." He put the blanket on the couch, nonchalantly. 

Frank realized what Jake was trying to do, and he looked at him, and nodded.

Jake knew the nod was not just an answer; it was an expression of thanks.  He nodded back, and helped him to lie down again. It didn't take long before Frank was fast asleep. 

Alex left the room, and came back with more blankets. "You should've brought more then one," she whispered to Jake.

"I was trying to be—" 

"Casual," Monica said, helping Alex cover Frank better. "Frank isn't doing a good job hiding his discomfort, Jake, in his condition."

"Poor guy," said Cody. "What the heck were you thinking, Jake, taking him out of the hospital?"

"I didn't _take_ him out, he forced me to _let_ him out."

" 'Forced' you?" Cody laughed. "He isn't even capable of forcing his legs to carry him, right now."

"Shhhh!" Alex and Monica both said together.


	10. The Shooter?

When Frank woke up, he was momentarily confused. The room was darker, and he saw Monica, Alex, and Cody asleep on cots. Jake was at the table, munching on the crackers Monica had brought earlier. It took a minute for Frank to realize that it was apparently the middle of the night; they had left him where he was on the couch, and all stayed to most likely take turns keeping watch over him.

Frank was genuinely touched. When he'd taken on the UC assignment, he knew he'd come on pretty strong, to the rest of the team. He'd wanted to gauge their methods, their talents, see how they handled themselves under pressure. This was an extremely dangerous job, and he wanted to make sure that this team wouldn't need any _more_ replacements. As the weeks had passed, he'd seen how close the team was to each other, and it was something he envied. He began to drop the harsh exterior, and was soon drawn into the fold. But he never quite realized just how _much_ the rest of the team cared about him, until now. 

Frank opened his eyes, not realizing that he'd closed them again, and saw that Jake had faced his chair in his direction. 

Jake saw that he was awake, and tiptoed over. "You okay, Frank? Need anything?"

Frank tried to shift his position slightly, and winced when pain threatened to overcome him. "Some water," he gasped.

Jake sighed. "How about some of those pills to go with it?"

Frank sighed, knowing he'd never fall back to sleep with such pain. He nodded at Jake.

Jake smiled in relief, and went to get the water. After he gave it and the pills to Frank, he sat on the floor in front of the couch. "Anything else you need?"

Frank shook his head, closing his eyes with a sigh. He suddenly had the feeling that there was something he wanted to ask Jake, and he opened his eyes again, trying to remember what it could be.

Jake saw the puzzled look on his face. "What?" 

Frank thought for a minute, and suddenly remembered. "That medicine. Did you find out…the name?"

Jake nodded. "I already have a bracelet being made for you. I mean, what if something happens and you have to go back, and some doctor or nurse doesn't know about it?" He shrugged, sheepishly. "I figured you should have it as soon as possible."

Frank smiled. "Thanks. I appreciate…everything," he said, feeling the medicine start to take hold.

"You'd do the same for me," he heard Jake say, as he drifted off.

********************

The next day Frank didn't wake until noon, and the first sound he heard was whispering. He opened his eyes and saw the team sitting at the table, close to each other so they could talk as softly as possible. 

"You mean he doesn't know about that?" 

Frank frowned, wondering what they were talking about. Was the 'he' supposed to be him? He saw Jake shake his head. 

"I didn't actually tell him yet, no."

"Tell me what?" Frank said.

They all turned and looked at him. Getting up from their chairs, they went over to the couch.

"Hey Frank. How do you feel?" Alex asked. 

"Shot," he answered, not liking that they seemed to be stalling. 

Alex looked at Jake. "Shouldn't he take the antibiotic now? Let me have it. Oh, and we should change his bandages." 

_Stallllllling_… "Tell me what?" Frank asked again.

Jake waited until Alex gave Frank the medicine, and had started on the bandages before he said;

"In the hospital, a nurse brought up blood for you. It was the wrong type."

Frank's eyebrows went up. Out of everything he could think of, _that_ was not one of them. 

"I don't think it was an accident, either," Jake went on. "From what the nurses told us, the blood was switched before they brought it. Alex saw it before it had a chance to hurt you." He said, nodding towards her.  

Frank didn't say anything for a minute, but sighed and closed his eyes. The pills Jake had given him were still working, but were wearing off fast. He tried to get his muddled brain to think. He didn't want to die; this person had to be caught before he tried again, and succeeded.

He opened his eyes, and involuntarily gasped as Alex's touch sent shockwaves of pain through his shoulder and arm. 

She flinched herself. "Oh, I'm sorry." 

He blinked back the sudden spots in front of his eyes, and nodded to show her he was all right. "The files…how far back?" he asked.

"Six months. We started going back further." 

"Try a year," Frank told them.

"When you first joined," Cody said. "Literally." He suddenly made a face. "What was the date when he got shot?" he asked the others.

They all hesitated, counting the days back. "October 14," Alex told them.

Cody went over to his computer, and started typing furiously. A minute later he went, "Whoa."

"What?" Jake asked. 

Cody turned in his chair to face them. "That was the date that the AG's son was kidnapped*, last year."

They all frowned, trying to figure out the significance. 

"Rafael Ortega," Jake said.

They all looked at him.

"Looks like someone is trying to get revenge on you for his death," said Cody. "I bet it's his father."

They all looked back to Frank, to see him rubbing his forehead warily. "Alejandro Ortega's a pro," he said.

"You don't think we can catch whoever he got to do it? You need more confidence in us," said Alex, as she finally finished with Frank's shoulder.

Frank shook his head. "Don't want you…getting hurt over me. Ortega is…too good."

There was silence for a minute, before Jake broke it.

"Frank, we're gonna find this guy. No one hits you and gets away with it."

Frank saw the agreement on everyone's faces, and just had to smile at their loyalty. He thought it ironic that it was taking massive physical pain to make him feel good emotionally. 

"Hungry, Frank?" Monica asked him.

He shook his head. 

"You have to eat!" Alex exclaimed.

"Later," he said. "We need Ortega's location."

"Probably still holed up in Colombia," said Jake.

Frank shrugged, almost not realizing until it was too late that he shouldn't involve his left shoulder in the action. He closed his eyes with a gasp, and sighed heavily.

"Frank?" 

He opened his eyes again, realized he had them closed longer then he'd planned to. They all said nothing, just looked at him sympathetically. But they also looked upset, that he was doing this to himself. 

"You should've stayed there, Frank," Cody said, referring to the hospital.

Frank said nothing, knowing they were right. 

"Okay," Jake said, easing the slightly awkward moment. "We gotta find Ortega. Cody, do your thing, and let us know what you find out about his whereabouts."

"Will do," Cody said, going back to his mass of computers. 

* Father's and Son's, episode 3


	11. Case Setback

Surprisingly, Cody could not locate Ortega anywhere in Colombia, or the US. It was hours later, and everyone was surprised to hear him suddenly say, "No way!"

Jake, Monica, and Alex all went over to him to find out what he'd found, since Frank was asleep and they didn't want to disturb him.

"What?" Jake whispered, looking over his shoulder.

"You aren't gonna believe this," said Cody. "You know what that is?" he said, pointing to the screen.

Alex figured it out, and her mouth opened in surprise. "Alejandro's death certificate."

They all exchanged glances. "Ortega is dead?" said Monica, in disbelief. "Then who's responsible for this? October 14 can't be a coincidence."

Cody shrugged, shaking his head. 

"Great, now we gotta tell Frank," said Alex, with a sigh.

********************

When Frank woke later, he knew something was wrong the minute he opened his eyes. Alex was pacing; Monica was sitting with her arms folded, staring at nothing; Jake was fidgeting with a pen, and Cody —while sitting at his computer— _wasn't_ typing at warp speed, for once.

"What is it?" he asked. 

They all looked at him, surprised at the sudden sound of his voice.

Alex looked at Jake, and they both walked over to the couch. Cody swiveled his chair around, and Monica sat up straight.

Jake sighed before he spoke. "Alejandro Ortega is dead, Frank."

Frank frowned. "Dead? Then that means…"

"It might've been someone else," Alex finished for him.

"'Might've'?"

She sighed. "It happened on the anniversary of Rafael's death. There _must_ be a connection somehow."

Frank sighed, reaching up his right hand to rub an eye, when he saw something dangling from his wrist. The medical bracelet. 

It was sterling silver, he could tell, and it said; 'Medical alert: allergy to…' something he didn't even _try_ to pronounce, in his current state.

He looked at Jake. "How much?"

"Alex paid for it."

Frank looked at her, and she shook her head. "Don't even try it, Frank. I owed it to you."

He frowned, puzzled.

"I was the one who shot Rafael," she said with a sigh. 

Frank finally understood. Alex was blaming herself for Frank having been shot, obviously thinking that it should have been her, since she was the one who had actually killed him. 

He wasn't quite sure what to say, except, "Thanks." He knew that when he had his full brain activity back, he should have a talk with her. 

Frank suddenly noticed that it was dark outside the window. "You don't all have to stay here," he started to say.

"That's all taken care of," said Alex. "You're going home with Jake."

"I am?"

"You can't go back to your place, there's a threat on your life," said Monica. "And you're not fit to be alone anyway."

"She's right," Jake said. "And you can't live on the HQ couch."

"Yeah, it's too lumpy," said Cody, with a smile.

********************

Jake unlocked his apartment door and helped Frank inside, bringing him over to the couch. Jake sat in the reclining chair across from it and sighed. It had been a tiring few days.

Frank rested his head against the back of the couch with a sigh of his own. "Sorry, Jake."

Jake looked at him with a frown. "'Sorry'? For what?"

"For being so much trouble," Frank answered, not liking being a burden.

Jake shook his head. "It's no trouble."

Frank made a face like he didn't believe him, then plopped his head back again. 

Jake started to get up. "You want anything?"

Frank shook his head. "I wish I knew if I saw the man's face."

Jake sat down again. "If it didn't have anything to do with Ortega, who do you think would do something like this?"

Frank snorted. "Long list."

Jake laughed. "The mark of a good Federal agent; when you lose count of the number of people after you for revenge."

Frank smiled at that one. "Yeah."

Jake saw that Frank had closed his eyes and sounded half asleep. He stood and went over to him, taking his good arm.

"Come on, boss. Time for beddy bye."

When Frank realized what he was doing, he said, "The couch is fine."

"No it isn't. You need real rest on something comfortable. My couch is worse then the one at the office," Jake joked, helping him to the bedroom.

Frank was asleep within a minute of his head hitting the pillow. Jake stood at the doorway, looking towards the living room, realizing that if Frank needed him in the middle of the night, or something, it was possible that he might not hear him from the couch. For a minute he didn't know what to do, but then he thought of a solution. He dragged his recliner as quietly as he could into the bedroom, and settled on that. His last thought before he fell asleep was what he would do to the shooter when he laid his hands on him. 


	12. A Nightmare, and a Better Clue!

_Frank was up early, having awoke at 5am, and failing to fall back to sleep. He was dressed and ready for work well ahead of time, and figured he might as well show up early. 'Very early', he thought._

_Suddenly he heard a knock at his door. He was surprised, wondering who it could be as he looked through the peephole. It was the mailman; shuffling through the mail he was holding. _

_Frank unlocked his door, but before he had it halfway opened it was pushed in._

_He didn't see the gun until it was too late._

_He gasped in shock as the bullet slammed into his left upper arm. Pain shot up and down it in a sickening wave, making him stumble back a step. He dizzily reached for his own gun, but only managed to raise it halfway before a second bullet slammed unto his shoulder, going out the other side. The force of it spun him around, and he fell hard to the floor, hardly noticing his gun go sailing out of his hand. He felt the hot blood running down his arm, chest, and back, and gasped at the excruciating pain. Darkness claimed him then, and he didn't hear the shooter laugh before closing the door and running back down the hall._

********************

"Frank!" he heard. "Frank, wake up!"

Frank opened his eyes, looking into the face of a worried looking Jake. 

Jake frowned as Frank stared at nothing, breathing heavily. He felt his forehead and checked his pulse; desperately hoping nothing was wrong and he wouldn't have to rush Frank back to the hospital. 

He put his other hand on Frank's good arm, noting with relief that his breathing was starting to slow down. "Frank? Are you all right? Talk to me!"

Only then did Frank seem to notice Jake's presence, and he blinked a few times and looked up at him. He realized that he was safe, and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, trying not to make noticeable the pain and utter weakness he felt.

"Frank?" Jake said, worried when he didn't answer. 

Frank looked at him again, licking dry lips before he spoke. "I'm all right."

"Yeah sure. That was some nightmare. What happened?"

"I…relived it." 

Jake's eyebrows flew up. "The shooting? You remember?"

Frank nodded, trying to grasp the memory; the dream was starting to slip away. "I didn't see his face."

Jake groaned, flopping back onto the recliner. "Great."

********************

"I wonder if they'll be on time," Cody said, sipping hot coffee.

"I doubt it," said Monica. "Frank looked like he could sleep for 6 months."

"What's your guess?" Cody asked Alex.

She swallowed her coffee before answering. "Somehow, I think they will."

Before Cody got to ask why, he heard noise and turned to see Jake and Frank coming in. Monica got off the couch and Jake sat Frank there.

"How are you doing, Frank?" Alex asked, thinking he didn't look so good.

"All right," he answered, sounding tired. "I remembered what happened."

They all smiled at him, overjoyed.

"Who was it?" Alex asked.

Jake sighed. "He didn't see his face."

The smiles disappeared.  
  


"What?!" they all said together.

"You tell them, Jake," Frank said, too tired to tell the story again.

"The 'mailman' _did_ make it seem like he needed Frank to sign something. He kept his head down, making it look like he was going through the mail in his hands. Then Frank started to open the door, but the guy pushed it open and shot him in the arm. Frank drew his gun and was hit in the shoulder." He sighed. "That's it."

No one said anything for a minute, as they all pictured the horrible scene. 

Suddenly Cody said, "MAIL!"

They all looked at him, in question.

Cody jumped up from his chair. "Mail! When we went to your place that day, Frank, there was a piece of mail on the floor, and I picked it up, assuming it fell off your coffee table, or something. He must've dropped it!"

"Fingerprints!" said Alex, jumping up herself.

"Go get it, Cody," Monica demanded.

"Yeah," said Jake, elated that they finally might get some answers. "Go get it, and run the prints."

Cody nodded and ran out of the room, not even bothering to answer.

********************

 Cody entered Frank's apartment, and there it was: the envelope, right where he'd tossed it. He smiled, and let out his breath in a *phew*, relieved that it was still there. 

"_You_ are evidence, baby," he said, as he picked it up with a handkerchief, stuck it into a plastic bag, and ran out.

********************

"Here it is!"

They all looked up as Cody ran into HQ waving the plastic bag. They barely had enough time to glance at it as he ran into another room to get the fingerprint-dusting supplies. 

Monica followed him in, curiosity getting the better of her. A minute later she called out, "Hey Frank, you've been offered a credit line increase on your American Express Platinum card."

"American Express _Platinum_?" Jake repeated. "Wow."

Alex was impressed as well. "Geez, you must have better credit then the President."

Frank laughed. "Reading…other people's mail…is a crime," he called out.

"Opps," Cody and Monica both answered.

Alex looked at Frank with concern. His voice sounded pain-filled and weak, and he looked paler then when they'd arrived. As if he was slowly deteriorating….

"You okay, Frank?" she asked.

"Fine," he mumbled.

"No you're not. Lie down before you fall off this thing," she commanded, taking his good arm, and helping him. 

Jake helped too, looking at Alex nervously when Frank closed his eyes, with a wince. 

Alex mirrored the expression. "He belongs in the hospital, he's pushing himself when he shouldn't even be _moving_."

"I know, I should've never let him out," said Jake, noting that Frank seemed to already be asleep. 

Suddenly the sound of *clickity clickity click* filled the room, and they realized that Cody and Monica had come out and were now in front of one of Cody's computers.

"Okay, prints submitted," he said. "I put a special 'Urgent: needed asap by the DOJ' note on it."

"Now we just have to hope that whoever shot Frank has been fingerprinted in the past, or we'll be back at square one," Alex said.

"He has," said Jake. "I know it. He better, because I'm going to find him one way or another, and he's gonna _pay_ for this."


	13. The Shooter; Identified

Cody's computer blipped, indicating an incoming email. He saw that the address was the one he'd sent the prints to, and he quickly opened it. What he read made his jaw drop.

"GUYS!" He tried to yell and whisper at the same time.

"The prints?" said Jake, as they all hurried over.

"Yup, you're not gonna _believe_ this," Cody said, shaking his head. "Rafael had a brother, and the prints are his!"

"A brother?!" said Alex.

"Yeah, named Raul. He's younger by 2 years. With his older brother and daddy gone, he must've inherited everything."

"Everything," Jake repeated, scratching his chin. "I wonder if he _did_ inherit it all."

"You mean the drug business?" Monica asked.

"That's exactly what I mean," Jake answered. "Out of curiosity, Cody, when did Rafael's father die?"

Cody brought up the death certificate again. "On…October 20. Less then a week later!"

They all turned and looked at Frank, still asleep on the couch.

"You don't think he intends to try again on his _father's_ anniversary, do you?" Alex asked, afraid of the answer.

Monica was the one who replied, her profiling mind helping her to decide, "Yup."

********************

_"I'll do everything I can to bring him back."_

When Frank said those words to the Atty. General's wife, he never dreamed that the outcome of that case would decide his fate a year later. He thought back to when the kidnapper had held a gun to the little boy's head, and taken off running. Frank had gone after him, and heard a shot. He hadn't known that Rafael had aimed to shoot him, and Alex had saved his life by killing him. 

All this time Rafael had a brother bent on revenge…and he'd almost had it. From what Monica just said, he _still_ might. 

Frank sighed, and opened his eyes. "People," he called.

If the situation hadn't been so grim, Frank would've laughed at the speed in which they all ran over to him. Before anyone had a chance to ask it he was all right or needed anything, he spoke.

"I agree with Monica. He wants me dead; he won't stop because of one failed attempt." 

Alex and Jake exchanged glances, not realizing Frank had been awake, and listening.

"Do you have a plan?" Jake asked him.

"_I_ do," said Cody. "Today is the 18th, we have to find the sucker before the 20th!"

Everyone made a face at him.

"Cody's right," said Frank, getting a smile from the computer whiz. "And it looks like there is only one way to go about this."

"How?" they all asked, except...

"No _way_," said Jake.

Everyone looked at him.

"I know what you're about to say. You think we're gonna let you use yourself as bait, the way you are? You can't even stand _up_ on your own! You'd have no chance to defend yourself at all!"

Frank sighed, knowing that Jake would object.

"He has a point, boss," said Monica.

"You know he's right, Frank," Alex agreed. "What could you possibly do? You'd be completely at his mercy." 

"A sitting duck," Cody threw in.

Before he had a chance to reply, pain stabbed through Frank's shoulder and arm, as if to agree with the team's argument. Frank held his breath for a minute, trying his best not to let it show. When it subsided he asked, "Anyone _else_ have any ideas, then?"

Jake nodded. "Yeah. Let _us_ handle it! Your only job right now is to eat and sleep. Can't you see your making yourself worse?"

Frank sighed. Feeling helpless was something he absolutely _hated_. He was used to being in control, not letting a situation get the better of him. 

First time for everything.

Frank studied his team as they all just stood there looking at him. Jake radiated confidence. He _knew_ he could catch Frank's shooter. He was glad to see that Jake had lost the cockiness that he'd had when Frank had first joined the team. 

Alex had sympathy written all over her face. Frank had seen from the beginning that she was an emotional woman. 

Monica looked sympathetic too, but there was also a look of, 'Idiot, doesn't he know his own body's limits?' on her face. 

Cody was trying to look stern, but Frank could see he was bursting to say something. He looked a question at him, and Cody tried not to smile as he said, "I was just wondering what you would do if we tied you up."

Everyone looked at him, not expecting Cody to say that. They started laughing.

Frank tried to look serious as he said, "I'd fire you."

Cody made a mock-hurt face. "Aww, boss! After all the computer hacking I've done for you?" He shook his head. "What does it take to get some appreciation around here?"

"Not tying up your boss, that's for sure," said Jake, smiling. "Unless you want to die young."

They all smiled, and were silent for a minute.

"Seriously Frank," said Jake. "You can't do anything in your condition. We can find him, we _need_ to find him! I have a plan."

They all listened intently.

"What?" Frank asked.

"Well, we think he got his father's business, right? Selling drugs. If we throw his name around, maybe someone knows of an incoming shipment. We can surprise him there and pick him up not only for attempted murder, but for drugs, too."

Frank nodded, tiredly. "That _is_ a good idea."

Alex sighed, not liking the look of Frank's pale skin. "That's enough for now Frank, get some rest; you need it badly."

Frank said nothing, blinking sleepily. He was beginning to get a headache now, and he knew Alex was right. "Don't take him out…without me…" he whispered slowly, ignoring their looks of disbelief as he fell back to sleep.

********************

Jake grew annoyed as he walked down the street. He and Alex had been talking to informants for the past few hours, and had not found anything out as yet. He was especially irked at one informant in particular, a sleaze ball named Vinny. He'd asked if he knew anything, and Vinny had rubbed his fingers together to indicate that he wanted money. Jake had given him $20, and Vinny had smiled and said:

"Sorry, to tell you the truth, I've never even heard of the guy."

Jake smiled to himself as he thought about what he'd done next. He'd given Vinny a punch in the face that would've made Frank proud, took his $20 back, and walked away. What could the jerk do, tell the cops 'he wanted info on a drug lord and I pretended I knew and took his money'? 

Jake sighed, hoping Alex was having better luck.

"Alex?" he said into his earpiece. "How you doin'?"

"Terrible," she answered. "I just had to beat someone up."

Jake almost busted out laughing. "You did? I'd hate to see what his face looks like! I did too."

"What, beat someone up?" Alex asked, as she turned a corner into an alley.

"Yeah."

"Well, at least we're having some fun," Alex said with a smile.

"Good point." Jake saw the bar he was looking for up ahead, and he went in, knowing he would find the man he wanted. 

"Beni!" he yelled. 

Jake suddenly heard a commotion, and watched as a man ran full speed to the other side of the bar.

"Same old Beni," Jake muttered, as he chased after the guy, who ran into the men's room. "Idiot always traps himself." He ran in and kicked open the only stall that was closed, to see Beni cowering as he stood on top of the toilet. 

Jake shook his head at him. "Why you always run from me, Beni? I'm smaller then you."

"But your badge is bigger then _me_!"

Jake laughed as he grabbed Beni by the front of his jacket and pulled him out of the bathroom and out of the bar.

Beni submitted totally, shaking in his boots as he wondered what he'd done—or been caught doing, anyway—this time.

Jake stopped on the sidewalk, and looked at him. 

Beni never changed. He was taller then Jake, but not as tall as Frank. He had scruffy brown hair and a long nose that looked like it'd been broken a few times.

"Okay, Jake, uh…what do you want me for?"

 Jake said one word. "Ortega."

The reaction on Beni's face might've gone unnoticed by someone else, but Jake knew him well enough to see it.

"Raul Ortega. Where can I find him?" 

"Oh come on, I don't know."

Jake took his badge out of his pocket and tossed it up and down in the air, providing the intimidation factor.

"Oh man he'll kill me…hey, can you provide protection for me if I tell?"

Jake's eyebrows raised. _You mean I actually found someone who knows?_ he thought. "Sure. I'll provide protection. I want Ortega that bad, Beni."

Beni made a face, probably wondering what Ortega had done. "Ortega has a shipment that I heard about, coming into Lake Michigan on the 21st."

Jake let go of Beni's jacket, and turned around with a frustrated sigh.

"What?" Beni asked.

"That's too late," Jake said. "Look, are you sure about the date? Have you heard anything else about his activities, anything sooner then that?"

"Hey man, you know me, you know I'd tell you if I knew, right?"

Jake gave him a skeptical look for an answer. "Whatever. Thanks Beni, I'll be seeing you," he said, liking the look of horror the threat created in Beni's face.

As he turned to walk away, Beni spoke again.

"You forgot something, Jake."

Jake shook his head with a smile, and took the $20 bill out of his pocket that he'd taken back from Vinny earlier. He folded it up and tossed it to his 'friend', who smiled as he clutched it and ran back into the bar.

_Same old Beni._ "Alex?"

"Yeah."

"Find out anything?"

Jake heard her sigh. "No. You?"

"Yup."

"What?" 

 Jake smiled. "On my way back to the car."

"I'll meet you there."

"Okay." Jake jogged the distance, hoping against hope that Beni hadn't lied to him. The only problem now was keeping Frank safe through the 20th.


	14. A Peek into Frank's Past

As Alex and Jake walked back into HQ they were surprised to see Frank sitting up, with Monica changing his bandages. Alex looked at her watch and saw that they were gone longer then she'd thought.

"How you feeling, Frank?" she asked, walking to the couch.

"A little better," he answered.

Alex could see no change in his face, and wondered if he was lying. She went along with it, however. "Good."

"We may've found out something," Jake said.

Frank's eyebrows went up.

"Someone heard that Ortega has a shipment coming in on Monday, on a boat from Lake Michigan."

"That's too late," Cody said. "Monday is the 21st."

Jake nodded. "I know, but that's all we could find out."

No one spoke for a minute, but then Frank broke the silence.

"I have every confidence in you all, to keep me safe."

They all just looked at him, shocked to hear him admit to needing help. They all enjoyed the massive compliment however, and smiled at him.

"That's right, Frank," said Cody, with a huge grin. "If anyone ever kills you, it would be one of us!"

********************

Frank went home with Jake again that night, and again had a nightmare. However, this one was very different.

_He was walking down the pier to Lake Michigan, and there was nothing in sight. No boats, no parked cars, absolutely nothing. The Lake was blue and beautiful, as usual, and he could see birds standing at the edge._

_Suddenly, he heard a gunshot. The bullet hit the back of his left shoulder; going out the front._

_He fell to the ground, and went to pull out his gun—but it wasn't there. He tried to get up but couldn't, as Raul Ortega—wearing a mailman's uniform—walked over to him, grinning madly._

_"Finally, the mighty Frank Donovan pays for his crime!" Ortega said, pointing his gun at Frank's head._

_"Crime?" he gasped, watching his blood spread around him on the asphalt._

_"You killed my brother in cold blood!" Raul shouted._

_"Is that what Ritger told you?" Frank said, not surprised at all._

_"That's what he told my father. My father died from a broken heart, because of you!" And with that, he pulled the trigger._

********************

If it weren't for the hands holding him down, and the massive pain and weak state of his body, Frank would've jumped right out of the bed.

"Frank! Take it easy! Calm down."

Jake. Frank realized where he was, and it felt like deja vu. He took a shuddering breath, still hearing the echo of the gunshot in his mind. "Sorry, Jake. Again."

Jake let go of him, and watched as Frank closed his eyes with a tired and frustrated sigh. "You okay?" he asked.

Frank nodded.

"Same dream?"

Frank shook his head. "This time Ortega got me."

Jake frowned. _Got him? Ortega did get him the first time._

"Killed me, I mean," Frank explained.

"Oh," Jake answered, not knowing what else to say. If there was one thing about himself that surprised Jake, it was that he never dreamed anyone actually killed him. A few times it _almost_ happened, but he always woke up first. 

He sighed, and opened his mouth to speak, but he saw that Frank's eyes were closed.

"Frank?" he whispered.

No answer. He'd fallen back to sleep.

Jake just sat there for a minute, and looked at his watch. 3am, on Saturday morning. The anniversary of Alejandro's death was Sunday. Jake sighed, and scrubbed his hands over his face. He didn't doubt that Ortega would try to kill Frank again. He wondered if Raul had his address, and knew that he had Frank here with him. For all he knew Ortega could be watching his apartment, just waiting for Frank to come into view in a window so he could shoot him. _Yeah right, as if Frank was capable of walking around or something.  _ 

Jake jumped slightly at a noise that suddenly came from Frank that sounded like a startled gasp. He was about to shake him awake, figuring it was another nightmare, but Frank calmed and continued to sleep, so Jake left him alone. He settled back in his recliner and tried to go back to sleep himself, but it was a long time before he was able to. 

********************

_*squeak*_

Jake jumped out of his chair before he was even fully awake. He grabbed the gun that he'd kept with him and stood flat against the bedroom wall behind the opened door, as he heard footsteps tiptoeing closer. 

He prayed that the person couldn't see Frank.

Jake waited for the right moment, and then jumped into the open doorway, pointing his gun.

"Hey!"

Jake lowered the gun.

Alex lowered her arms. She shook her head. "Do I look like Raul Ortega to you?"

Jake snorted, taking a step back to let her into the room. "For a Fed, you don't sneak very quietly."

"It isn't _my_ fault your floor squeaks!" She walked over to the bed, and felt Frank's forehead. "How's he doing?"

Jake shrugged. "Not bad."

Alex frowned at the feel of Frank's still-too-warm skin. "What was the shrug for? Did something happen?"

Jake made sure that Frank was still asleep before answering, in case Frank wanted what had happened kept in confidence. "Nightmares."

Alex shook her head. "_Nightmares?_ Frank Donovan?"

"Yeah." Jake went back over to the recliner, and sat down.

"About what?" Alex whispered.

"First one was the shooting. At 3am today it was Ortega killing him."

Alex made a sympathetic face. They sat there in silence for a while, watching Frank sleep. "I wonder how long it'll take him to recover." Alex whispered, as she studied his pale face.

Jake sighed. "He's got a pin in his arm, remember. They have to take that out. Then he'll need therapy."

Alex shook her head, putting her chin in her hand. "I wonder how he got involved in this line of work?"

"You want to know?" they heard.

Frank was awake. He opened his eyes, and gave them a tired smile. 

Alex smiled back at him. "How you feeling?"

"Fine."

Alex made a face at him. "Sure you are. Jake, where's his medicine?"

"I'll get it."

After Jake left the room, Alex asked, "Are you really gonna tell us how you got this job?"

Frank nodded. "Why not. I know everything about all of you…it's about time you learned something about me."

_Yes, it is,_ Alex thought. "We know more then you think," she teased. "Cody's computer can find out anything."

Frank looked at her in surprise, wondering just what they had found out. But then he saw that the joking look on Alex's face, and he smiled. 

Jake came back in with Frank's antibiotic, and helped him take it. "Wanna take one of these, now?" he said, holding up the pain pills. "You don't need a clear mind anymore, you remembered the shooting."

Frank hesitated. He liked having a clear mind—or as clear as it could be, considering the pain. He hated being controlled by drugs, and this drug definitely controlled his brain. But then again, it would be nice to lessen the pain.

"Come on, Frank, you'll feel better," Alex said. 

Frank sighed, but then nodded, and took them. 

"I'm holding you to that," he said to Alex.

"To what?"

"Feeling better."

Alex smiled. "You will. Now tell us, before the pill knocks you out!"

Jake laughed. 

"All right. When I got out of college, I became a cop."

"A cop? Where?" Alex asked.

"Washington DC. Before I knew it I made Sergeant, and then Lieutenant. I was the youngest Lt. on the force."

Alex and Jake listened intently, in awe.

"Then I was promoted to Detective. The FBI was impressed by a call I was involved in, and they recruited me." He paused for breath. "Then the CIA stole me, and after that the DOJ 'permanently borrowed' me," he said, with a smile.

Jake and Alex just stared at him. 

"Is all that for real?" Jake asked.

"Every word," Frank said, as his eyes suddenly started to drift closed.

"What was the case that impressed them?" Alex asked. 

"Hostage…situation…" Frank's eyes closed, and stayed that way.

"Frank? Don't go to sleep yet! Tell us more!"

Too late.

"Ohh, Jake, you shouldn't've given him that pill!"

"Pill?"

They turned to see that Cody and Monica had come in. 

"Hey the floor didn't squeak for them," said Jake. 

"Huh?" said Cody.

"Nothing," Alex said. "Guess what? Frank was a cop!"

"We're all considered cops in a way, Alex," Cody said.

"She means a _cop_ cop," said Monica. "How's he doing?"

"Ok. He could be better though, I think."

"I can't wait till we catch this guy," Cody said. "Wanna help me beat him up?" he asked Jake.

"Definitely."

"Cool. What you got to eat in this place anyway. We can make the women cook."

Both Alex and Monica shot Cody indignant looks.

"Okayyyy…how about we let them clean the mess instead," he said, jerking his head towards Jake's kitchen. "Come on, tell me more about this 'cop' thing."

Monica laughed softly after they'd left. "Morons."


	15. Nervous Wrecks

I wanted to say 'thank you' again, for all the wonderful reviews! Everyone who reviewed more then once; thanks, thanks, thanks! (There are a few of you!) Patty; you reviewed nearly every chapter; you are the best reviewer anyone could ask for, LOL! Email me so I can thank you properly, will ya? deanalisi@hotmail.com. Anyone else want to send me an email, go right ahead. I am soooo thrilled that you all like my story so much! There will be more stories to come! 

"You think Frank is safer here then at HQ?" Cody asked.

"I hope so," Jake said, praying that Ortega didn't have his address.

They all sat quietly in chairs, keeping an eye on Frank, and trying to enjoy the 'rest' they were getting. But knowing that Frank's potential murderer was on the loose and possibly still coming after him only served to make them nervous, not relaxed.

"At least Frank's comfortable here," Monica said. "Unlike on the HQ couch."

They all nodded.

"Make sure one of us asks him about that case," said Alex, sleepily. "I'm dying to know."

"So am I," said Jake.

One by one, they all drifted off to sleep except Jake, who tried to stay awake. Their jobs were tough; none of them got adequate rest, but Jake wasn't about to let sleep deprivation cause the possible further injury—or death—to his boss.

He was just losing the battle when his phone rang. He nearly fell off the recliner in his haste to answer it before it disturbed anyone, but it startled everyone awake, including Frank. 

"Hello?"

"Give me Donovan."

Jake looked at the others, who all stared at him, somehow knowing who it was.

"Who? I think you have the wrong number," Jake said.

"Cut the crap, Jake Shaw," Ortega said. "I know who you are and where you live. Give me Frank Donovan or you'll _all_ die!"

"You'll have to go through me to get him, Ortega!" Jake yelled, and slammed the phone down.

"Jake…" Frank started to say.

Jake stood and pointed his finger towards his boss. "Shut up! You aren't going anywhere! We are gonna catch this jerk and put him away for good!"

His speech was interrupted by gunfire that suddenly tore through the window.

Everyone scrambled to the floor; Jake and Cody grabbing Frank and carefully but quickly pulled him to the floor beside the bed, while glass rained down on them and bullets flew past their heads.

"Alex! Monica!"

"We're okay!"

Suddenly bullets started coming from behind them, and Jake automatically shielded Frank with his body. He gasped as a bullet tore into him. 

"Jake!" he heard; it sounded like Cody. Suddenly everything went black…

********************

_*ring*_

Jake jumped a mile—still on the recliner—when his phone rang. He stared at it in a stupor for a minute, before grabbing it and saying, "Hello?"

Silence.

He hung it up, nervously, trying to come back to his senses after the terrible dream.

Everyone was staring. "What happened?" Cody asked.

"No one was there."

Alex and Monica exchanged glances. 

"I bet it was Ortega, trying to see if I'm here, because if I am then he knows Frank is because we would all stay together to protect him!" Jake said, talking way too fast, unnerved by what seemed to be his dream becoming reality.

Frank opened his mouth to speak, but Jake cut him off. 

"Shut up! You aren't going anywhere! We are gonna catch this jerk and put him away for good!" He suddenly looked towards the window, remembering what had happened after he'd said those words in his dream.

No bullets came through it. 

Cody broke the sudden silence. "Did you just tell Frank to 'shut up'?"

Jake looked at Frank, who's expression was unreadable. "Sorry, boss," Jake said, feeling stupid, since what he'd feared hadn't happened.

"I'll let you get away with it this time," Frank said, with a smile. "You aren't challenging my authority because you don't like my methods…but because you're trying to save my life." 

Jake smiled back, and nodded. 

"We lost a leader once, we don't want to lose another one," said Cody. "It was hard enough getting used to _you_."

Everyone laughed at the unexpected comment.

_Trust Cody to lighten the mood in the middle of a life and death situation_, Jake thought to himself.

********************

To everyone's utter relief, the day passed without incident. 

Jake couldn't explain the reason for the hang up phone call, other then it had to have simply been some kind of bizarre coincidence. Either that or Ortega was biding his time, wanting to know where they were so he could make his move the next day; Sunday, the anniversary date of his father's death. 

It was currently after midnight and Alex and Jake were the only ones still awake.

"Do you think we should move him? Take him somewhere else, if Ortega knows he's here?" Alex asked.

Jake thought for a minute, before shaking his head. "If he _does_ know, and is watching the place, then what'll stop him from shooting us the minute we leave the building? Or what if he put a bomb under one—or all—of our cars?"

Alex's eyes opened wider, she hadn't thought of that. 

"Looks like we need to stay here, and no one should leave until Monday morning; when we go bust him."

"Yeah," Alex said. "But if he put a bomb under someone's car, it'll still be there on Monday."

Jake looked at her, with a look as if to say, 'Oh crap, you're right.' He sighed heavily. "This is a crazy job we have, Alex."

"Don't I know it. But we enjoy the variety." She smiled. "Every undercover role you play makes you feel like an actor."

Jake nodded. "Except our guns are real, though."

"Yeah," Alex said, trying to stifle a yawn, and failing miserably. "Can't stay awake anymore. Wake me for my watch."

"Yup."

A snore from Cody a few minutes later made Jake look out the bedroom door to the living room, where Cody was—somehow—sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag. Monica was curled up on one end of the couch, and Alex was now on the other side. They were all sleeping like babies, the stress and worry of the past week catching up to everyone. 

Jake turned back around, and looked at Frank. Frank was asleep, and had been for the past few hours. He was probably getting more sleep this week then he usually got in a month. 

Jake sighed, and took his gun from his lap, making sure for the hundredth time that the safety was off, afraid that his moving around in the chair would jostle the safety back on. He pointed the gun through the bedroom, towards the front door; glad to see that he had a good bead from there. He sighed again, and kept the gun in his hand, ready for Ortega should he try to come through that door. 

********************

The next day everyone was a nervous wreck, but tried not to show it. 

Alex was obvious, by smoking even more then usual. 

Monica paced.

Jake didn't say much.

Cody was serious, for once.

Frank was quiet too, nervous himself. Part of his mind told him Ortega would not succeed, but the other part told him that he'd been lucky too many times in his life, and that luck was sure to run out sometime. He vowed that he would not go down without a fight, and he knew he couldn't save himself by lying in bed. 

"Hey!" Jake practically shouted, when he saw what Frank was trying to do. "What are you doing?"

"Trying…to…get up," Frank said, with difficulty, as he attempted to push himself up with only one arm. 

All four of them ran over, trying to stop him. 

"How will I be able to defend myself if I have to, if I'm a helpless invalid?" Frank exploded. Or would have, anyway, if the effort of trying to stand wasn't being so hard. 

Jake stopped trying to keep Frank where he was, sitting unsteadily on the side of the bed. "He's right, guys."

"But he can't defend himself at all!" Cody said.

Frank shot him an indignant look. 

"Hey, it ain't my fault it's true," Cody said with a half smile.

Frank sighed. "Move," he told them. 

They hesitantly obeyed. Jake, who was closer, kept a steadying hand on Frank's arm as he tried to stand up. It was a good thing, for the minute the still-too-weak Frank was on his feet his knees buckled, and he fell against him.

The others rushed over to help, but Frank put his hand up to tell them not to touch him, as he tried to blink the dizziness away. 

Jake held onto him tightly, glad that he'd been on the side of Frank's uninjured arm. 

After a minute Frank stood up straighter, exhaling louder then he intended. He tried to pull his arm out of Jake's grasp, but Jake wasn't having any of that and stubbornly held on. Frank tried to take a step under as much of his own power as he could, but stumbled.

"Take it easy, Frank! Let me help," said Jake.

Frank sighed, frustrated. "I know I can do this with help, Jake, but I need to do it _without_ help."

Jake saw his point, and nodded. He tried to hold Frank in a straighter stance, instead of trying to support him. 

That seemed to help, as long as Jake kept Frank straight. After a few steps Frank said, "Let go."

"Frank…"

"Let go!"

Jake obeyed, but kept his hands close as Frank took a step and nearly toppled over sideways. This time the rest of the team—who'd been following them—helped to steady him and bring him back over to the bed, where they sat him down.

Frank said nothing for a minute, trying to get his breath back and wish away the sickening weakness he felt.

"You okay, Frank?" Monica asked, worriedly.

He nodded.

"I think that's enough for the week—I mean day," said Cody.

Frank had to force himself not to make a face at him.

"We're gonna keep you safe, Frank," said Alex. "You gotta trust us."

Frank looked up at her, seeing the emotion in her eyes. "I do," he answered.

"Okay, enough of the mushy stuff. I'm hungry," said Cody, rubbing his hands together.

"You're eating more of my food then _I_ do!" Jake complained, shaking his head. He looked at Alex and Monica. "You'd better go eat now too, before he takes it all!" He laughed. "If he hasn't already."


	16. Milk, Apparitions, and Arguments, Oh My!...

Frank's little exercise had drained with little strength he had, and he went back to sleep quickly, sleeping through most of the afternoon. When early evening came and he opened his eyes he was surprised not only to see that it was dark outside, but that he was still in Jake's apartment, and apparently, everything was still all right.

He turned his head to see that Jake was asleep in his recliner. There was movement on the other side of the bed and suddenly Monica's face appeared over him.

"Hey Frank, glad you finally decided to wake up." 

Alex heard her voice from the other room and peeked her head in. "He awake?"

Monica nodded.

"Time to eat, Frank," Alex said, and disappeared. She came back before Frank got a chance to ask Monica what was on the menu. 

Frank had been expecting soup, and was surprised when she came back with a big sandwich and glass of milk. 

Monica must've seen Frank's surprise. "You need substantial food, Frank, something that'll give you back the strength you wasted this morning."

"I'm not complaining," Frank said, taking the glass of milk and drinking the whole thing. When he looked back at them, both Alex and Monica had their eyebrows raised.

"You like milk," Alex stated.

Frank smiled. "I love milk."

Monica shook her head. "And all this time we were thinking we were gonna have to pour it down your throat. Better get him some more, Alex, so he can take his pills." 

Alex took the glass and complied. 

They watched him like a hawk, making sure Frank ate it all. When he finished, Alex took the plate.

"Thanks," he said.

She smiled. "Anytime. Thank Jake, it's his food."

They all looked at Jake to see him blinking his eyes, having just woken up. He heard the word 'food', and said, "Did Cody eat me out of house and home?"

"Almost," Monica answered.

"Where _is_ Cody?"

"Asleep on the couch," Monica said. "Who would've thought all four of us would catch up on lost sleep at Jake's apartment over a weekend." 

They all laughed at that.

An uncomfortable silence followed, as they all remembered the reason they were cooped up at Jake's place.

Alex sighed. "Man, is Ortega gonna try something or not?"

No one knew how to answer that. 

Monica sighed. "It appears to be his MO. He did it on his brother's anniversary, and he _must_ blame you for his father's death too, Frank."

Frank sighed, knowing Monica was right. "What time is it?" he asked.

"Almost 6:30."

Frank said nothing. Was Ortega playing a game with them? Was he planning to bust in in the middle of the night, when he thought them all to be asleep? Did he even know they were all there? Did he know _any_ of them were there?

"There's nothing we can do but wait," he said. "Don't let it get to you. Ortega is only one man, against five of us." Frank realized that he sounded more confident then he actually felt. 

"Right on, boss."

They looked up to see Cody come in. "He's right, you know," he said.

They all nodded, though they were unable to stop the speculations and fears that ran through their minds. 

********************

Frank woke in the middle of the night, with the vague feeling that something was wrong. Not fully awake, he just laid there for a few minutes, not thinking clearly. He found that he was shivering, and he wondered why, since the team had piled the blankets on him. _The team_, he suddenly remembered. He opened his eyes and saw Jake asleep in his recliner, and Cody somehow remaining upright while asleep in a chair. 

Frank suddenly started sweating instead of shivering, and realized what was happening. His fever must have risen again. That was _not_ a good sign. He sighed, not wanting to trouble his sleeping teammates, not thinking clearly enough to realize that if Jake and Cody were both in the room, then that meant that Cody was supposed to be on watch, not sleeping. 

Suddenly Frank heard a noise, and he looked to see someone's shadow walking in the living room. At first he thought it to be Alex or Monica, but when it came closer, he saw that it was a man.

He tried to sit up, and started shivering again. "Jake!" he whispered. He tried to reach over and grab Jake's gun, as the shadow walked closer. He saw the face now, and the eerie smile on it. 

"Jake!" 

Jake and Cody both jumped at the sound of Frank's voice. They were surprised to see him trying to sit up, and reaching towards Jake with a panicked look on his face. Jake picked the gun up off his lap so he could get off the chair, and Frank tried to grab it. 

"Frank? What—"

"Shoot him!"

Jake immediately pointed the gun around the room, frowning when he saw no one there. He turned back to Frank to see that Cody was trying to restrain him, from trying to jump out of the bed. Frank still had the panicked look, something Jake thought he'd never see. 

He put the gun on the chair and grabbed a hold of Frank, trying not to hurt him. "Frank! Frank, listen to me; there's no one there!"

Frank barely heard him, as the apparition continued to walk closer, with a ghostly look to it. Suddenly, it vanished into thin air, and Jake's voice finally got through to him.

"Frank, it was another nightmare, there's no one there!"

Frank blinked, and saw Jake and Cody, with Alex and Monica behind them, looking worried.

He realized then that he'd hallucinated, but apparently the team didn't, and he wasn't about to tell them. 

"Boss?" Cody said, feeling guilty that he'd fallen asleep on his watch, and may've been able to do something if he'd been awake.

Frank looked at them, and nodded. "I'm all right," he said, hoping they couldn't see him shivering. He lay back down, hoping they wouldn't touch him and notice the renewed fever. He _had_ to go with them the next day, to take out Ortega. 

"Do you wanna talk about it, Frank?" Monica asked, her psychological training kicking in.

Frank shook his head and closed his eyes, pretending to go back to sleep. He didn't have to pretend for long; a minute later he was out like a light.

The team just looked at each other, shocked, never expecting to see that kind of thing happen with Frank.

"Wow, Jake, I didn't realize the extent of it," Alex whispered.

Jake shook his head. "No, that was the worst one. He seemed to still be dreaming even after he was awake."

Monica shook her head. "He's been seriously injured, guys. He should still be doped up in the hospital. What do we expect?"

"I expected anything but that, I think," said Cody. "Maybe we should take him back to the hospital when this case is over with."

They all nodded to each other. "Maybe we should," Alex said.

"But don't tell _him_ that," Monica warned. "Or we'll pay for it, I'm sure."

********************

The next day everyone tried their hardest to be quiet, so as not to wake up Frank, knowing he would demand to go with them to Lake Michigan. They were all extremely shocked that Ortega had not made another attempt on Frank's life the day before, and they were trying to figure out why. 

Jake and Cody snuck out of the apartment house and into the garage, wondering if they would be shot at. No one attacked them, so they checked out all the vehicles for bombs or sabotage. Finding nothing, they went back upstairs to hear Frank and the girls arguing.

"You are going _nowhere_ without me!"

"Frank, where is your _brain_?! You can't defend yourself, you can't do _anything_ in your condition!" Alex said.

"I _can_ still shoot a gun!"

"Yeah, if it isn't too heavy," said Monica, more softly then Alex.

Jake and Cody walked in then. "Okay, okay, calm down everyone," Cody said, holding his arms up. "I'm sure we can reach a mutual decision."

"Who's going?" Frank suddenly asked, rubbing his forehead as if it hurt.

"Me, Alex…uh…" Jake said.

"Exactly!" said Frank, putting his arm down and looking at them. "If you leave me here, then you will have to leave at least one other person. If you leave Monica, and Ortega decides to spring it on us since he knows you three will be gone, then how can Monica deal with him alone?" He paused for a breath, realizing that was the most he'd said at one time in days. "If you leave Cody instead, then Jake and Alex will only have Monica—who isn't as trained for physical confrontations—for their backup. If you left Alex here, Jake, then you would be the only one mainly capable of catching him—"

"I see your point," Jake said.

"So what do we do?" Alex asked. "How can we keep an eye on you while we're chasing drug dealers around a port?"

"I can still take care of myself. Put me behind a crate, give me a gun, and I'll be fine."

They all looked at each other, not sure.

Frank sighed, then wished he hadn't, hoping they didn't see it as an indication of how weak he felt. "We have no choice."


	17. Meet Raul Ortega

"Oww!

"Sorry!" Alex was trying to put a bulletproof vest on Frank, and it wasn't easy with his bullet wounds. 

Frank had to actually bite his lip, as she tried to adjust the vest so that it wasn't resting on his shoulder, which naturally was impossible. 

Alex was getting flustered, in her failed attempts to not hurt him, knowing he was still in a lot of pain. She knew how heavy the vest was, and how uncomfortably it hung on the body, digging into the shoulders as gravity pulled its weight down. She could only imagine what it would be like to not only have the thing resting right on the site of bullet wounds, but to have its weight crushing a weak body. _If Frank is able to walk with this thing on_, she thought, _he'll be lucky_.

Alex looked at Frank, realizing he hadn't made a sound all that time, and was alarmed to see that his eyes were shut tight, and he'd grown paler. _Crap, I was hurting him and he didn't say anything…_"Jake! I need help here."

Jake was there in a split second, and took in the sight. Knowing the problem instantly, he undid the vest's straps around Frank's left side, and loosened it above Frank's shoulder. 

Frank sighed deeply, and opened his eyes.

"You okay, Frank?" Alex asked, afraid that she'd done more damage.

He nodded, unconvincingly.

Cody came walking in with Monica behind him, both vested up. "We're ready….and you're not."

Jake stuck his hand gently under the vest above Frank's shoulder. "Alex, hold this up."

She came over and complied.

Jake left the room, and came back a minute later holding a handful of…something.

"What's that?" Monica asked. It looked like pillow stuffing.

"Pillow stuffing," Jake said, carefully sticking it under Alex's hand. 

"Pillow stuffing?" Cody repeated, sounding like an echo. 

"Yeah, I had a pillow on the couch that didn't match, had nowhere to put it."

"Ah," Cody answered, nodding his head, making a face as if to say, 'allllllrighty, then.'

After Jake finished, he had Alex remove her hands and the vest rested on top of the stuffing. Alex then fixed the Velcro straps around Frank, and they all looked at him.

"How's that?" Jake asked.

"Better," Frank answered, sounding relieved.

"Now you owe him a pillow that matches his couch!" said Cody.

********************

It wasn't a long drive to Lake Michigan, but it seemed a lot longer then usual to Frank, who was sitting in the back between Jake and Alex, while Cody drove. He kept drifting off into a half awake, half asleep mode, his weakness making him feel exhausted, despite all the rest he was getting. He was aware that Alex kept trying to keep her body away from his injured arm, but against the side of his vest, to keep him upright in the seat, while constantly pulling her shoulder away from his, so as not to touch it and cause him more pain. She had to have been uncomfortable. He kept wanting to tell her he was all right, but his mind drifted off before he had the chance. 

Strangely enough, the vest seemed to be keeping him warm, holding in his body heat, and warding off some of the chills he kept experiencing due to the fever he was sure had risen. What surprised him was the fact that no one had said anything about it, he was sure they had to have known. If he could feel it, then they could see it, no? 

"Frank?"

Frank blinked his eyes to see that the car had stopped, and Jake was looking at him, a hand on his good arm. 

"We're here."

Frank nodded, and Jake and Cody helped him out of the car. They were a short distance from the pier, but as close as they could get without the possibility of being spotted. There were no boats in the harbor as of yet, they saw. 

"How're we gonna get Frank over there?" Monica asked.

"I can walk."

"No you can't, but we have no choice," Alex said. 

They slowly made their way to the pier, Cody and Monica helping Frank, so that Jake and Alex could keep their hands on their guns and stay aware of their surroundings in case trouble popped up.

They found a convenient spot behind some crates and a low wall, and hid behind it. Eventually a car pulled up, and a bunch of guys got out. They stood around, waiting, until finally a ship could be seen heading towards the pier. It docked, and the team watched the exchange between the men and the ship's crew.

"Is that Ortega?" Jake whispered to Frank.

Frank squinted, shaking his head. "I'm not sure."

"Why don't we go over there and grab them?" Cody asked.

"We want them to accept the drugs first, so we can prove they actually had them in their possession," Jake said.

Cody made a face at himself. "Oh duh. Earth to Cody."

Monica punched his arm. "Shhh."

They watched for a while, as the boat was unloaded. The crew came ashore and went on with their business, completely in the dark as to what they had just given the men. 

"Okay…now!" Jake said.

"I don't think so," they heard.

They looked up to the right to see a man standing on the deck above them, holding a gun. 

"Ortega," Frank whispered.

It was a trap.

"Frank Donovan; the man who killed my brother and father. We finally meet properly!" Ortega said with a laugh.

"Ortega," Frank said, "I did not kill your bro—"

"Shut up!" Ortega yelled. "You shot him in cold blood! And because if it my father died!"

"Ortega, listen to me," Frank said, annoyed to feel himself start to shake, his body not yet able to handle the huge surge of adrenaline.

"No, listen to _me_!" Alex suddenly said, standing up in front of Frank. "Ortega, Donovan _didn't_ kill your brother. _I_ did."

A confused look spread across Ortega's tanned face. "What?"

It was all the distraction they needed. Jake pulled his gun up and shot at Ortega, who turned and ran. 

The other men who'd been standing near the crate of drugs with their guns aimed at them started shooting, while Alex ran after Ortega.

Jake pushed Frank down lower as he shot back. Cody was on his left, and Monica on the right beside Frank. Some of Ortega's men started to run, and Cody and Monica ran after them, slightly surprising Jake. 

This meant that Jake had to stay where he was, with Frank. A few of Ortega's men remained, so Jake continued shooting. 

A bullet hit the wall right next to his head and he ducked, stealing a quick glance at Frank to see him covering his head with his good arm. Jake waited for the right moment, and then popped his head up again, and fired 3 bullets in quick succession. Two of the men went down, and the third ran, limping. 

Jake pointed his gun around the pier, searching for others, and finding none. He crouched down next to Frank. 

"You okay?"

Frank nodded, trying to repress the dizzying effects of the adrenaline rush in his weakened body. 

Jake craned his ears, listening for gunshots or any sound to indicate what was going on with the rest of the team. Hearing nothing, he sighed, hating to have to wait.

********************

Alex ran as fast as she could. She wondered why Ortega wasn't shooting at her as he sprinted far ahead of her in a bizarre obstacle course type way. _Faster, _she told herself. 

********************

Cody and Monica came back, with one of Ortega's men. Jake recognized him as the one who'd tried to limp away.

"Where are the rest?" Jake asked.

"Out of their—and our—misery," Cody answered, pushing the handcuffed man to the ground.

"Where's Alex?" Monica asked, looking around.

Jake sighed. "She went after Ortega."

"Oh great."

********************

Alex continued to chase Ortega, trying to ignore the stitch growing in her side as she followed his erratic pattern. He seemed to be deliberately taking them somewhere. He was too far ahead for her to risk stopping to take a shot at him, if she did; she knew she'd lose him. Suddenly she recognized where they were, and realized what Ortega meant to do.

"No!" she yelled, bringing up her gun.

********************

"Frank, stay right there!"

Frank sighed as the three of them ran over to him, as he stood unsteadily holding onto the crate for support. 

"I'm all right," he said, as they all tried to grab him. "Alex still not back?"

"No!" 

Frank frowned, puzzled to hear his question answered by Alex's shout. Before he had a chance to look up, two shots were heard, almost occurring together. 

Frank gasped as a ton of bricks hit him square in the middle of his chest, knocking his weak body out of his team's hands and hard into the ground. He cried out in agony as the impact sent unbearable pain through his shoulder and arm. He didn't notice the thud made by Ortega's body as it fell from Alex's shot. 

Alex ran over to the edge to see Frank on the ground, the rest of the team surrounding him. _Oh God, please, not armor piercing bullets!_ she thought, jumping off the deck, and landing on her feet 10 feet away from them.

She ran over and knelt beside them, helping them turn Frank over, who had curled up on his side, gasping in utter agony. 

They held him down as Jake gently but quickly tried to open the vest, to see if the bullet had gone through. When they saw the lack of blood, everyone sighed in relief. 

"Thank God!" Alex exclaimed. 

"We gotta get him to the hospital," Jake said, after seeing that touching Frank's chest got a moan from him. "The bullet did some damage, not to mention his arm and shoulder."

"What do we do with that jerk?" Cody asked, gesturing to the man they'd handcuffed to a pole, who stared in shock at Ortega's lifeless body. 

Jake shrugged. "Leave him for the cops! Someone call them, I'll get the car."

Monica made the call and when Jake pulled up, they carefully put Frank in the backseat and sped to the hospital, no one considering what the ship's crew would think when they returned to find dead bodies and a wounded man handcuffed to a pole.

********************

"I think he's waking up."

Frank heard a voice, but didn't know who it belonged to. He kept his eyes closed; sure he wouldn't be able to hold them open if he tried. 

"Frank? Are you awake?" 

A woman.

That didn't narrow it down much. He'd met tons of women over the years. 

"Guess not."

Another woman. 

Intrigued now, Frank opened his eyes halfway to see who was obviously staring at him. When he saw the four faces, something clicked in his brain.

The team was relieved to see recognition flash across Frank's face. The poor guy was so doped up they were afraid he wouldn't know who they were.

"Frank?" Alex said. "Do you know who we are?"

"Yeah," he said. "Four people who like to drive me crazy."

They laughed at that, all of them noticing the slow and almost slurred sound to his voice. They watched as he made a face and blinked his eyes a few times.

"You okay Frank?" Jake asked, worriedly.

"Morphine," Frank answered. 

Jake nodded. "Yeah. A lot of it."

Frank nodded, knowing instantly by the weird perception he was getting of his surroundings. It was a weird sensation—one he'd experienced before, naturally—but he was grateful for the abatement of most of the pain.

"What happened?" he asked. 

"Ortega shot at you, hit you in the chest. The bullet didn't pierce the vest, but it did crack one rib, and bruise another."

_Great, yet another injury! _Frank thought. "When can I get out of here," he asked, slowly, the drugs seeming to make his accent thicker.

Jake walked closer. "Uh-uh. No way! You are staying here for as long as they say. Do you know what day it is? Ortega happened the day before yesterday. Your stunt of 'get me outta here' almost did you in, Frank!"

Frank didn't know how to respond. Whether it was due to the medication or not, he couldn't be sure.

"Nah, Jake just likes having your job," Cody said, smirking at Jake.

Monica and Alex laughed.

"No, really Frank, we just want you to get better," said Monica.

"Monica's right," Alex agreed.

"Yup," said Cody. "I'll bet Jake'll miss your job."

Jake snorted. "You can _have_ it back. It's too crazy, I'd never be able to do it."

"You did a pretty good job all week," Frank said.

They all looked at Jake. "Yeah, I did, didn't I? Maybe it _isn't_ so bad after all."

Frank smiled back, trying to keep his eyes open, as the morphine tried to rob him of consciousness. "Yes, you did, just try not to get used to it…"


	18. Epilogue: At HQ

"Good morning."

Alex, Monica, and Cody looked up to see Frank and Jake come walking in.

"Frank!" Alex said. "You weren't supposed to be out for 2 more days!"

Frank smiled as he sat at the table, everyone else doing the same. "They let me out early," he told them, adjusting the sling that was still on his arm. "They made me swear I'd take it easy for a while."

"He crossed his fingers behind his back," Jake said. "I saw him."

Everyone laughed.

"Interesting timing, Frank," Monica said. "Something happened last night that you need to know."

Frank frowned. "What?"

"Raul Ortega committed suicide in his cell."

The UC team had been surprised to learn that Alex's shot had not killed Ortega that day, they were so occupied with Frank's injuries that they never actually checked Ortega's body to see if he still lived. 

"And justice for all," Cody remarked.

Frank said nothing, only sighed.

"You okay, Frank?" Alex asked, noticing that he still looked a little pale.

Frank nodded. "Such a waste of human life."

Everyone was surprised at his statement. 

"_Waste_?" Alex said. "A criminal like that, who tried to _kill_ you? He _deserved_ to die!"

Frank sighed again. "Alejandro Ortega was a criminal, a drug lord. His sons were not—at first, anyway. He was a bad father, allowing his sons to become like _he_ was. Two waste of human life. He wasted both his son's lives."

Everyone was silent, realizing the truth in the statement. 

"Well, I for one am glad that we don't ever have to worry that he'll break out of jail, and come after you again," said Jake.

Everyone else nodded. 

"So," Cody said. "Did you stop in just to say hi or are you staying?"

"I would go home and rest if I were you," Alex said.

"Yeah, you never know how soon you'll be forced to chase after another drug dealer," said Jake. 

Frank nodded. He _was_ still tired. "Do we have any pressing cases right now?"

They all shook their heads.

"All right," Frank said. "Then let's call it a day."

Cody's mouth dropped. "You're letting us have the day off?"

Frank nodded. "It's the least I can do. You all protected me from Ortega at the risk of your own lives. So go home, or go shopping," he threw the last part at Alex and Monica. "And enjoy it. Like Jake said, you never know how soon you'll be chasing after another drug dealer."

Alex looked at Monica excitedly. "Monica, remember the red leather jacket in the window of Sak's on Michigan Ave? Now I have a chance to buy it before the sale ends! Thanks, Frank!"

"No, thank _you_," Frank said. "Thank you all." He hesitated. "Without you all I'd be dead. Thanks for taking care of me."

They all smiled, knowing that sharing his feelings was a hard thing for Frank Donovan to do.

"No problem, Frank, you can count on us," Monica said.

"Yeah, we really do care," said Alex.

They both looked at Jake and Cody, wanting them to say something too.

Cody held up his hands. "I leave all the mushy stuff to you two."

Everyone laughed. 

"Okay, okay," said Cody. "They're right, Boss. Happy now?" He threw the last part at the girls.

Jake smiled. "And _he's_ right that _they're_ right, Frank," he said.

Frank smiled back. "Thanks," he said again.

"Anytime," they all answered, in unison.

THE END 

* "Father's and Son's", season 1, episode 3

For those who haven't seen the episode:

Rafael Ortega was on death row in jail and his father, Alejandro Ortega, (a Colombian drug lord) hired a man named Ritger to kidnap the AG's 7-year-old son to trade for Rafael. Rafael later was shot dead by Alex when he tried to shoot Frank, and Ritger told Alejandro that Frank shot him dead in cold blood. (The liar!) Yes, Frank _did_ get the AG's son back, after shooting Ritger. 

Thanks again for the reviews! Glad everyone liked it! UC is the best!


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